Dozens in NW Ohio without power caused by strong winds

Downtown Toledo building damaged

Strong winds caused bricks to fall from this downtown Toledo building, resulting in an intersection being closed.

Dozens of Toledo Edison customers in Toledo and Monclova were still without power late today, a result of daylong strong winds that were whipping throughout Lucas County.

Hans Rosebrock, external affairs manger for Toledo Edison, said this afternoon that employees were close to restoring service to 61 Monclova customers and 15 Toledo customers.

A total of 853 customers temporarily lost power today, Mr. Rosebrock said. Affected customers were spread across Toledo Edison’s service area, which includes the areas from Port Clinton, to the Indiana border on the west and the Michigan border to the north of Toledo.

Wind gusts of up to 37 mph were expected to continue in the Toledo area throughout the night before dissipating on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Strong winds are also being blamed for causing a rain of bricks to fall from the roof of the former Caesar's Show Bar, prompting police to close portions of Jefferson Street in downtown Toledo today.

Nobody was hurt in the incident, which occurred at about 11:30 a.m., said Toledo Fire Department Lt. Matt Hertzfeld. Jefferson between Erie and Ontario streets has been closed until investigators can determine how safe the rest of the building is, he said.

The dilapidated, vacant bar has been closed for several years, Lt. Hertzfeld said.

"No, this isn't a surprise," he said of the bricks coming off the building.

Toledo police and firefighters responded to the scene.