Downed Trees, Power Lines Major Concern in Essex, Middle River

(UPDATED 1:45 p.m.) Ernie Gover was taking a shower about 7:30 a.m. Sunday in his Wilson Point home when a loud crash startled him.

That crash was a tree falling onto the roof of his home, taking down power lines at the same time.

“I just heard a ‘bang’ and I jumped right out of the shower,” Gover said. “I’m just glad no one was hurt.”

Gover’s story is similar to many across Essex and Middle River as strong winds from Hurricane Irene overnight led to hundreds of trees falling. Wilson Point and Bowleys Quarters were among the hardest hit with trees and debris scattered around home homes and onto roads.

Many of the fallen trees took out phone and power lines with them. Typical of that type of damage was a huge tree on Bowleys Quarters Road, which was shut down just prior to the Bowleys Quarters Volunteer Fire Department. The tree and live power lines blocked the road.

According to BGE, as of 12 p.m., Sunday, 466,455 homes in its service area were without power, including more than 138,837 in Baltimore County. The utility has warned that it could take sevreal days to restore power to all customers.

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Still, most residents are counting their blessings, as Irene didn’t bring nearly the destruction that Tropical Storm Isabel brought in 2003. Then, 8-foot tidal surges destroyed hundreds of home and damaged hundreds of others. According to the National Weather Service, tidal surges reached only 1 to 3 feet during the height of Irene.

However, there was some flooding reported overnight along Golden Ring Road and additional flooding Sunday along Back River Neck Road near Rocky Point State Park.

Cameron Leopold lost his house during Isabel and is currently without power. He joined many of his neighbors along Bowleys Quarters Road assessing the damage and seeing how they could help one another.

“Irene was a chump compared to Isabel,” said Leopold, who has lived in Bowleys Quarters for 13 years. “We can deal with this over the flooding. We all know each other down here and will work together to clean this up just like during Isabel.”

Karl Korinth’s home was also severely damaged during Isabel but he escaped with minor water damage from rain this time around. He and his wife, Sally, were at a “hurricane party” last night with friends before waking up this morning to discover his home lost power.

“This was a walk in the park compared to Isabel,” Korinth said. “We had a lot more wind this time and I’m sure falling trees will be a problem for awhile.”

Lt. George Dulina, of the Middle River Volunteer Fire Department, said he lost count on how many calls for fallen trees and wires he went on overnight. He added that the needs during Irene were far different than during Isabel.

“Flooding was definitely not the issue this time around,” Dulina said. “There are just trees and wires down all over the place. The wind was so severe last night.”

Between the trees and the power outages, workers and volunteers at the emergency shelter at are prepared to accept more people needing assistance.

As of 9 a.m. Sunday, there were 20 adults, five children, two dogs and two cats at the shelter. County officials closed the shelter by 12:45 p.m.

 Towson Patch Editor Tyler Waldman contributed to this story.