Minimal damage reported from Tropical Storm Idalia in tri-county

In Greek, Idalia means "behold the sun." And that's exactly what Sumter residents did Thursday.

The cloudy skies, impending rain and reckless wind of Wednesday brought on by Tropical Storm Idalia were polar opposite to the blue sky, cotton candy clouds and tranquility that enveloped Sumter on Thursday.

Residents enjoyed leisurely strolls through the streets, some even accompanied by four-legged friends, and lunch dates on restaurant patios.

However, throughout the day, public safety personnel dealt with the aftermath of the storm.

Sumter County received 2 to 4 inches of rain with wind speeds between 35 to 40 miles per hour, according to National Weather Service Meteorologist Leonard Vaughan, based in Columbia.

In the city, remnants of the storm included a broken power pole at the intersection of Broad and Community streets that left low-hanging power lines to be repaired throughout the afternoon and fallen trees in the Mason Croft area, according to

Tonyia McGirt, public information officer for Sumter Police Department.

From 8 a.m. Wednesday to 1 a.m. Thursday, Sumter Fire Department responded to six fire alarms, five vehicle accidents, nine calls of trees on powerlines and one house fire where an outside meter base attached to a residence caught on fire, according to Division Chief Joey Duggan.

The Sumter Item reached out to Sumter County Sheriff's Office about assistance calls in the county but did not receive a response by press time.

Assistant Director Rob Lybrand with Sumter Emergency Management Department said the storm was "nothing like we had anticipated and prepared for," and that's a good thing.

"Our public works director Mr. Hyatt said it the other day: We always prepare for the worst but hope for the best, and in this situation - even though with any storm, nothing really good comes out of it - overall, we got the best possible scenario that we could get for a storm of this magnitude," Lybrand told The Sumter Item.

Damage reports were limited throughout the county, and 911 calls were normal, Lybrand said.

Electrical crews were still venturing through the county on Thursday, assessing downed powerlines and potential outages. There were also roadways in the county still obstructed with fallen trees or substantial amounts of water. Lybrand urged drivers to use extreme caution when driving in these areas, especially if powerlines are down.

Throughout the storm in Clarendon County, Fire Chief Michael Johnson totaled one flood assessment, one windstorm assessment, three vehicle accidents, two commercial business alarms, two residential alarms, four trees on powerlines calls and 18 emergency medical service response calls for the entire county.

Clarendon was impacted the most, totaling 6 to 8 inches of rain throughout the county. Tom Barrineau, director of Clarendon County Emergency Management, said the county fared better than expected, experiencing "minimal damage" from Idalia.

In the days ahead, the sky will return to its bright blue shade, and the temperatures will remain in the low 80s.