One man received minor injuries from flying debris. While the county's main roads were open Tuesday, authorities said some secondary roads were likely blocked by debris.
"Fortunately today we're dealing with a lot of property damage, but not loss of life or severe injuries," said Lt. Jay Baker, a spokesman for the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office.
The storm system inflicted damage across the state. It toppled trees and knocked out power lines from Catoosa County in northwest Georgia all the way to Liberty County near the Atlantic Coast. Georgia Power reported Tuesday morning that 8,400 customers were without power statewide, primarily in the state's northwest corner.
Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner Ralph Hudgens toured the Dixie Speedway, where the owner estimates the facility sustained at least $250,000 in damage. The storm wrecked several grandstands and damaged light poles. It then struck a subdivision, went across Woodstock High School and struck another subdivision.
"Sometimes a house would be hit, and a lot of damage," Hudgens said. "And then the next door neighbor, nothing."
Officials at Fort Stewart said a lightning strike sent about 22 soldiers to the hospital Monday, with at least three kept overnight. Fort Stewart spokesman Pat Young said the soldiers were on the post's Donovan Field in a large tent that may have taken a direct lightning strike.
He said there were no initial reports of burns, and 18 of the soldiers were released back to active duty Monday evening.
Heavy rains flooded an apartment complex in Fort Oglethorpe in northwest Georgia, and 33 people were rescued by boat, Georgia Emergency Management Agency spokesman Ken Davis said. He said the American Red Cross set up a shelter in Rossville.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2011/9/241678