MADERA - Friday afternoon around 1:30pm  the city of Madera experienced a strong wind storm that moved through the area.  Winds from the storm reached speeds of 37 mph according to the National Weather Service at the Madera Airport.

The Madera Police Department received about forty calls regarding wind damage and/or power outages from the storm.  There were approximately four temporary power outages caused by downed power lines.

One of these was a large tree across from James Madison School on the MUSD stadium property that fell on power lines cutting off power to neighborhoods and Madera South High School. That power outage and the speed of the winds caused the administration of the school to lock-down classes for two class periods.

One person reported seeing a tornado near the 600 block of Ashlan but the report has not been confirmed by the National Weather Service.  Trees were reported to have fallen into houses at the 600 block of Ashlan, 1300 block of Sonora, 200 block of Hilton and on Foster Avenue.

A 100 foot wooden pole supporting the backstop at the Madea High School Varsity Baseball Field snapped causing the backstop to come crashing down. MUSD crews were at work making the field safe but that nights baseball game was moved to Fresno where it was posponded because of weather. According to Madera High School Athletic Director John Fernadez, the baseball stadium will not be usable for the remainder of this season and will also affect the Madera Babe Ruth program. Madera High School will share the facilities at Madera South High School for both varsity baseball and softball.

The most tragic lost in Friday's wind storm was the damage to the front enterance of Saint Joachim's Catholic Church. Portions of the 58 year old Fresco of the father of the Virgin Mary came crashing down on the enterance of the church where tiles were everywhere. It is not known at this time home much it will cost to repair the tiled artwork or if it can even be repaired.

"We would like to thank all members of the community, parks and recreation, and public works for the outstanding job in helping to clean up the streets. It was inspiring to see how in many neighborhoods the community would work together and direct traffic to ensure nobody was hurt. Thanks everybody and be safe.", said Sergeant Daniel Foss of the Madera Police Department.

Fortunantly there were no reports of injury during the storm.