MADISON, Tenn. (WTVF) — This time a year ago, we were reeling from a tornado outbreak.
The storms on Dec. 9, 2023, took the lives of seven people in Tennessee and Kentucky, including a 10-year-old in Clarksville, and a 2-year-old and his mother in Madison.
Homes, churches, and businesses were all greatly impacted. More than 80 people were hurt.
One of those storms crossed right through a substation in Madison. The North Substation on East Campbell Road was hit. It created a large explosion that was captured on multiple cameras around the area.
At the time, we were told damage like it hadn't happened since the 1970s.
A high-voltage circuit breaker took a direct hit, according to Jack Baxter at Nashville Electric Service.
"Seeing that [video] it gave us a good idea of the types of damage we're going to see," said Jack Baxter, VP of Operations at NES. "It took our crews quite a bit of time to get here because of all the debris."
In Madison, the tornado touched down around sunset. NES shared a video from about 4:45 p.m. of EF2 force winds whipping through the steel structures.
The North Substation is vital. Being a transmission substation, it sends power to distribution substations that send power to homes and businesses. Approximately 48,000 NES customers lost power in the storm.
Along with the equipment at the substation, at least 190 power poles were broken, and the substation for Hendersonville was also hit.
Using parts from their warehouse and goods from other utilities, the substation was in good working order in a few days. It is almost totally repaired, one year later.
"You had TVA working on one end, NES working on this end. Both trying to build back to Hendersonville as soon as we could," Baxter said.
It also helped that NES has its own excavation equipment things like dump trucks. Many smaller utilities don't which makes cleaning up after a storm even harder because everyone needs the same resources.
We all know Dolly Parton as a Tennessee treasure, I believe Mr. Jimmy Wren might join her. In honoring his 101st birthday, we got to know this WWII veteran and Orlinda native. His stories are captivating, and he'll leave you in stitches. Enjoy this story from Chris Davis and photojournalist, Catherine Steward.
-Carrie Sharp
