Officials ask the public to stay away from dangerous areas hit by storm damage in Hoover

Officials are asking people to stay away from areas in Hoover which were damaged by a powerful storm Friday night.The Hoover Fire Department had its hands full with injury and damage reports pouring in as severe weather continues to move across central Alabama. Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato issued the following statement on Saturday:"Friday night, August 11th, around 7:00 pm, a significant thunderstorm with high winds caused a good bit of destruction throughout the City of Hoover. The vast majority of damage took place in the Bluff Park community around Chapel Road and Park Avenue. Many homes had trees fall on them and numerous roads were blocked by trees or power lines."Members of the Hoover Fire Department, Hoover Police Department and Hoover Public Works immediately responded to dozens of calls, primarily to remove trees from blocked roads and to check structures that were damaged by trees. These crews worked through the night and are continuing to work today to clear streets blocked by trees that have live wires entangled in them. Our goal is to have all streets open by 5:00 pm today, Saturday, August 12th.Currently, we are still in response mode. We hope to begin the cleanup process by Monday or Tuesday of next week. Also at this time, I am not aware of any injuries that occurred.I am grateful to our City employees that worked tirelessly through the night responding to these emergencies and I am grateful to the Jefferson County Public Works Department that responded so quickly to help us remove trees from roadways. I’d also like to thank the many citizens that helped to remove trees and assisted our Fire, Police and Public Works crews.At this time, I am asking citizens to please stay out of the area due to low handing limbs, wires that are dangling and trees that continue to fall."The reports are mostly centered around Hoover, with several trees blocking major roads, preventing emergency services personnel from accessing many problem areas.A large tree completely blocked Shannon-Oxmoor Road, backing up traffic and forcing cars to turn around. Neighbors joined the fire department to help chop up the debris and clear the roadway.Elsewhere, several homes have collapsed or been crushed by falling trees.Weather | Radar | Hurricanes | Traffic | uLocal | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram EMS workers have responded, or were attempting to reach the following reports:Trees down, blocking Shannon-Oxmoor RoadTree down on house on Maiden LaneTree down blocking Chapel RoadTree down at 715 Valley St.Tree through house on Maiden Lane; no injuries reportedTree through house at 516 Park Terrace with injuries reported; conditions at the scene unknownHome at 2249 Chapel Dr. collapsed due to tree.This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.Stay updated on the latest weather updates with the WVTM 13 app. You can download it here.