Imperial Valley press., 1908-09-12
RECORD BREAKING WIND LEVELS TEMPORARY DWELLINGS
 AND TELLS DERRICK.
UNUSUAL" SAY PIONEERS
Center of Imperial Valley Seems to Have Been Center of Disturbance in Wednesdays High Wind-Rain and Electrical Display Factors in Storm-Damage at imperial.


 Valley has experienced since the first settlers came was that of Wednesday evening. While it was of short dura- tion, it's effects were startling Tent houses, tents, and outbuildings were blown to the ground, while more sub- stantial structures suffered more or less damage at points m the valley.
 The storm spread out i'll magnifi- cent display along the western noun tain range for two hours before it broke over the valley. The clouds clear ly indicated that wind was rampant, and the electrical display was bril- liant.
 The fury of the storm broke upon El Centro just at dark, and a north west wind was accompanied by hard rain, which beat against persons out in 1t with almost the sting of hail.
 The Seventy-two foot derrick erec- ted in the northern part of Fl Centro for the purpose of drilling for water was thrown to the earth with such violence that many of the timbers were injured This will cause a de- lay of probably week in getting we'll ~rllling operations started. The huge d tent house nearby.
 The tent house of Charles Stack in the northern part of town, was the scene of striking freak of the storms fury. Mrs. Stack, mother of Charles SIaack, was in bed when the storm broke. The wind swept open the door pushed the bed into the middle of the floor, and then picked up the walls an had landing them several feet away from the floor, without injuring the occu- pant of the bed.
 Another freak of the wind at the Stack place was that while corn and smaller garden stuff was little injured, the tall pig weeds were pulled up by their roots, and the place is now al most clear of them.
 R. L. Greer. whose place is also in the northern part of town, had his tent househouse blown down. The Rum sey tent house, back of the Valley Department Store, was wrecked, as was also the house of Mrs. Genevieve Williams on Brighton street, and the Scott house on the western part of main street, near the Date canal. A Walker portable cottage on Fifth street collapsed, and several others were wrecked.
 The galvanized iron awning of the new Levy block on Main street, was one of the first things to feel the winds fury. The western section of this awning went down, narrowly mis- sing the plate glass windows. A win dow in the Press office was shattered by the twist of the wind.
 The Hotel Fl Centro suffered the loss of the top of it's bus.
 At Imperial three cottages were blown from their foundations, and both packing sheds suffered damage one of them collapsing.
 During all this stress, the HOlton Power Company escaped trouble and served it's patrons with electric cur rents last night without difficulty, Heretofore a storm has been the sig nal for trouble to appear along the lines of this company, but recent i'm provement has put a check to this an noyance.
 Two hours after the storm broke, the sky was clear, and there followed a brilliant. moon-lit night.
 An incident of the storm indicates the timbre of the desert. Mir. Dimond, a carpenter completed a new tent house on Wednesday and moved in. At the height of the storm he felt the roof giving way but held it up long enough for his wife and two babies to get out before taking the slide him self. MT DimOnd is Woodman, and Thursday morning dozen or so of his fellow lodge members buckled in and by night had new house ready for him.
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