The hardest hit was Alytus County
According to Edita Zdanevičienė, a representative of the Fire Protection and Rescue Department, 25 calls were received in Alytus County. This is half of all calls due to the storm that passed through Lithuania. A total of 49 were registered in the country.
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“Half of all calls were in Alytus County. The main tasks were removing trees from the roadways. The districts most affected were Druskininkai, Lazdijai, and Varėna. There were 22 reports of trees fallen on the roadways and 3 cases where trees fell on power lines,” said Edita Zdanevičienė.
Worked until morning
Ramūnas Navickas, head of the fire protection service of Varėna district municipality, told 15min on Friday morning that the fire crews had no rest during the night and worked until morning.
According to the chief, all district roads are currently passable, and forestry workers are still trying to clear forest paths.
“The last rescuers from Merkinė, Perloja, and Makniūnai areas finished their work and returned before the shift change at seven in the morning. They worked for twelve hours.
Now the main roads are cleared. Only forest roads remain, but foresters are taking care of them. In some places, locals have cleared gravel roads themselves. As far as I know, there are almost no impassable roads left in the district. Four fire crews, the police, and, of course, people helped.
Within a week, we have already had a second such case. On Saturday, it was the other side – Valkininkai, Puodžiai. There the storm also knocked down trees. You could say it was an identical situation to now in Merkinė, Marcinkonys,” Ramūnas Navickas told 15min.
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Trees broke in Prienai and Birštonas areas
One of the most intense periods began before 7 p.m. in Prienai district. At 18:54 in the New Ūta eldership, Tartupis village, firefighters were informed about trees blocking the road. Upon arrival, rescuers found six fallen trees in several road sections and removed them after cutting.
Just five minutes later, help was needed in Ignacava village, Prienai eldership. Here, trees fallen on the roadway posed a traffic safety hazard. Firefighters removed five trees in several road sections and immediately went to other calls. At 19:03 in Išmanai village, Balbieriškis eldership, six more fallen trees were found in several road sections. They were also cut and removed.
The storm also caused trouble in Birštonas. At 19:06 on B. Sruoga Street in a parking lot, a tree fell on a car. Firefighters removed part of the tree but had to stop work temporarily due to the risk of further damaging the vehicle. When the car owner arrived, the remaining part of the tree was removed.
Soon, reports of fallen trees were received from other places in Birštonas. On Queen Barbara Alley, a tree had fallen on the roadway, and at 19:26 on Tourist Street, it was reported that the road became impassable due to fallen trees. Firefighters found five trees in several places and removed them.
Strong winds also posed a danger to power grids. In Prienai, Šilo Street, a broken power line due to wind was reported. In Domeikava, firefighters responded to tangled power lines and stood by until ESO workers arrived. In Kaišiadorys district, Kiemeliai village, broken power lines were found in two places near a pedestrian path. Dangerous areas were cordoned off with STOP tape, and firefighters waited for ESO specialists to arrive.
Firefighters had to clear storm damage in other parts of Kaunas and Marijampolė counties as well. In Kalvarija municipality and Vilkaviškis district, fallen trees were removed from roads, and in Balaikiai village, Marijampolė municipality, a tree was dangerously leaning on power lines – rescuers stood by until ESO workers arrived.
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