Winds howl across area

How windy was it last Wednesday?

How about so windy, it blew over a freight train.

It sounds like a tall tale, but it was no joke when severe winds apparently knocked off 23 railcars from the Canadian River railroad bridge near Logan into the ravine below. A Union Pacific Railroad spokeswoman confirmed there were no injuries.

The railroad spokeswoman didn't say what caused the derailment, but New Mexico State Police stated in a tweet that high wind gusts that day were "a contributing factor" in the accident.

State Sen. Pat Woods, R-Broadview, in a news release Wednesday imploring the public to be careful amid the high winds, stated the train cars were empty of cargo and didn't carry hazardous material.

According to National Weather Service data, Tucumcari Municipal Airport twice Wednesday recorded peak wind gusts of 69 mph, with others in the 60s between 10:53 a.m. and 3:53 p.m. Sustained winds of 50 mph or more were recorded twice during one-hour intervals that day.

The derailment prompted the closing of Highway 469, which goes over the railroad line near the trestle, for more than an hour Wednesday.

"We are assessing the situation and sending resources to assist in clearing the area and minimize potential public impacts," Raquel Espinoza, senior director of corporate communications and media relations at Union Pacific, stated in an email Wednesday. "The train consisted of two locomotives and 73 rail cars carrying intermodal containers with mixed freight."

The derailment apparently damaged the bridge, as well. Bent rails could be seen from the Highway 469 crossing, and the toppling railcars wiped out a guardrail on the east side of the span.

Espinoza wouldn't estimate when the railroad bridge would reopen.

"At the moment, we are still assessing the situation and plan to conduct a detailed bridge inspection," she stated Wednesday afternoon.

The Logan Fire Department reported railroad workers were busy on the trestle later in the week, making repairs.

The wind didn't wreak havoc in just Logan. According to the Tucumcari Quay Regional Communications Center, dispatchers took four calls Wednesday about power lines downed by the wind, including one at Mesa Cafeteria at Tucumcari Public Schools.

Wes Reeves, a media relations representative for Xcel Energy's office in Amarillo, stated in an email Wednesday night nearly 15,000 people were without power in its New Mexico division that included Quay County. He added that dispatchers were "inundated" with repair calls.

Quay County emergency dispatchers also took calls about wind-related accidents and property damage.

One of the latter was Joe Apodaca's residence in the 100 block of North Sixth Street in Tucumcari. The wind blew down a tree partly onto his house, though damage to the structure appeared to be minor.

"I always wanted to knock this tree down, but not like this," he said.