By MONROE ROARK
Staff Writer

After a long Tuesday night dealing with extensive storm damage, emergency personnel in Fayetteville were preparing for another possible hit late Wednesday, although they hoped it wouldn't come.

The first call Tuesday came just after 4 p.m. when lightning struck a local residence and caused an attic and wall fire, according to Fire Chief Alan Jones. It was put out in about two hours, then the real busy work started.

About 8:10 was when word came of a tree down on Ga. Highway 85 in front of Dunkin Donuts, just a few feet north of the Courthouse Square. That was followed less than ten minutes later by the call concerning a motorist trapped in her car by downed power lines at E. Georgia Avenue. (see related story on this page).

A structure fire call came before 8:30, Jones said, as an outbuilding on Holly Avenue was completely destroyed. The exact cause has not been determined yet, but it is likely the fire was storm-related, Jones said.

A large tree went down on Church Street and damaged a house and several cars, while First United Methodist Church on the square took a hit from a tree as well, and the face of the clock tower on the square was cracked slightly.

After the initial calls were handled Tuesday night, Jones said emergency personnel were assembled and went out to assess damage citywide. The structural damage appeared to be mostly confined to Hwy. 85, reaching as far north as the Midas muffler shop, which sustained some roof damage.

Jones said a police officer called in at one point and said he spotted a funnel cloud up in the air Tuesday, but he did not see it actually touch the ground. That was the only actual sighting reported, as far as he knows.