Credit: Provided

Credit: Provided

A late winter storm brought a treacherous sequence of heavy rain, then sleet, snow, ice and high winds to the Ithaca area over the weekend, downing trees on campus that injured a worker and knocked out power for 24 hours on the eastern border of the university.

On March 8 at about 11 p.m., Otis Phillips, an arborist called in to remove a fallen beech tree blocking Forest Home Drive in an area just below Mann Library, was injured when another tree fell as he inspected the site. The second tree, an ice-laden oak, crashed across the road, pinning Phillips against a guardrail before he could escape.

Phillips was accompanied by a partner, who summoned nearby Cornell Police units that were cordoning off the area. Cayuga Heights Fire Department and Bangs Ambulance crews also responded to the scene.

Rescue crews used wooden cribbing, air bags and chain hoists to free Phillips, and he was rushed by ambulance to Arnot Ogden Medical Center in Elmira.

He is currently listed in stable condition despite severe damage to both of his legs. The poor weather conditions prevented a transport by medical helicopter.

Also on Saturday night, a large oak tree collapsed across Blue Grass Lane on east campus near the Robert Trent Jones Golf course and the Cornell Equine Park. The tree sheared off the top of a utility pole and tore power lines out of their moorings. The ensuing blackout caught Cornell veterinarians in the midst of foaling a mare, and the team had to use flashlights to carry out the procedure. Several had to walk in the dark along a muddy, icy access road to get to the park.

"We had one birth just as the lights when out," said Carol A. Collyer, director of the Equine Park. "And then another foal was born on Sunday, just as the lights came back on. In my 20 years here, I've never experienced a power outage for 24 hours straight."

Both foals are healthy, she said.

Pete Salino, Cornell grounds department supervisor, said central campus was spared any major tree damage. Some limbs and branches were downed, he said, "but overall the trees on the campus proper fared quite well."