South Whidbey was hit by a massive windstorm this week, one of the biggest and most destructive in years.

The power went out, downed trees blocked roads everywhere, and homes were damaged. It’s a wonder that despite so much destruction, most roads were drivable by noon on Friday morning.

South Whidbey Fire/EMS alone cleared more than 200 downed trees in about 10 hours. That’s pretty incredible, and the district’s 45 volunteers, responding to more than 100 calls, deserve our thanks.

Island County Public Works road crews did a great job too, as did police, Puget Sound Energy and other response workers. The power was still out in many areas by press time, but all in all, Whidbey’s emergency crews did a great job managing a pretty hefty storm.