ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Strong winds began causing disruptions across Asheville and surrounding communities early Monday afternoon, knocking down trees and leaving hundreds without power.
By 1 p.m., a tree was reported down on Garrison Branch Road in Weaverville, and scattered power outages were reported across Buncombe County.
According to the Duke Energy outage map, about 440 customers were without electricity east of Biltmore Avenue in downtown Asheville. The utility listed the cause as fallen trees and limbs damaging the equipment and estimated service would be restored by 4:30 p.m. Altogether, some 691 customers were reported without electricity in Buncombe County. By 3 p.m., that number had climbed to 3,977 people without electricity…