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Wind gusts as strong as 50 mph knocked out power to at least 20,000 Charlotte-area customers early Friday morning and more than 140,000 statewide.

By the afternoon thousands were still without power.

As of 4 p.m., more than 10,000 were still without power in Mecklenburg County, according to PowerOutage.us.

There were 230 people without power in neighboring Union County, 2,285 in Gaston County, 316 in Stanly County, and 615 in Iredell County. As of 4 p.m., Cabarrus County also reported 355 people without power, according to PowerOutage.us.

In York County, there were 199 people without power.

The hardest hit areas in Mecklenburg County early Friday included the southern portion of the county along I-485 near Providence Road, and near Arrowood Road off I-77 in southwest Charlotte. The power outages comes as a winter storm moves from the Midwest to the east coast on Friday.

Crews are restoring service as quickly as possible, Duke Energy said. Other utilities reported scattered outages as well. The United States power outage map reported more than 165,000 North Carolinians without power mid-morning.

The Charlotte Fire Department tweeted that the 4400 block of South Blvd was closed in both directions Friday morning because of downed power lines. The Midland, NC fire department reported a tree and power lines down on Highway 24/27 at Allen Storage Road.

You can call Duke Energy at 800-POWERON (800-769-3766) or text “OUT” to 57801 to report outages or fallen power lines.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

This story was originally published December 23, 2022, 7:53 AM.

The historic Reed Gold Mine allows visitors to try to uncover their own gold nuggets.

MIDLAND, N.C. — Less than an hour's drive east of Charlotte, there's a place that'll make it feel like it's still the gold rush.

Reed Gold Mine is in Midland, North Carolina, and is where the first documented gold was discovered in the United States.

According to Reed Gold Mine, then-12-year-old Conrad Reed was playing near Little Meadow Creek in 1799 when he found a 17-pound yellow rock. History says the Reed family didn't know what Conrad had discovered, so they took it to a silversmith in nearby Concord. But since no one had identified gold in America yet, the silversmith didn't know what it was.

At that point, the Reed family decided to use the yellow rock as a doorstop.

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But Conrad's dad, John, was still curious about the rock. He brought it to a jeweler in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

The jeweler told John Reed it was actually a gold nugget and that he could cash it in for a week's worth of wages to John Reed, which equated to $3.50. John Reed took the jeweler up on his offer, not knowing the actual value of the gold nugget was closer to $3,600.

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Despite the underpayment, John Reed formed a mining partnership and started working to find more. The first authenticated discovery of gold came in 1803 when an enslaved person named Peter found a 28-pound gold nugget. According to research, that remains the largest gold nugget found east of the Mississippi River to date.

Since its beginnings, people can still pan for gold in the historic Reed Gold Mine.

Visitors can explore underground mines and even see a restored stamp mill. It's free to access the mine and facility, but to pan for gold, it costs $3.21 per pan during panning season, which runs from April through October.

To learn more about the Reed Gold Mine, visit their website.

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CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. — Coins spilled everywhere after a bank truck crashed in Cabarrus County on Wednesday afternoon.

A Brinks truck collided with another vehicle just before 1 p.m. on the westbound side of Highway 24/27 just east of Bethel School Road.

Money spilled onto the highway due to the crash.

"We have been assured every coin will be collected off the ground with a specialized vacuum unit that Brinks utilizes," Midland Fire and Rescue tweeted.

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One person was transported by Cabarrus EMS to a nearby hospital with potentially serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation responded to the area with a sand truck to help contain a fuel spill that happened during the incident.

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Only coins, no paper bills, spilled onto the roadway.

*Traffic Accident* Update Hwy 24/27 East of Bethel School Rd (the corrected location) this is involving a Brinks truck off the road (yes some money has spilled) Hwy 24/27 westbound is down to 1 lane and @NCDOT is on the way with a sand truck to help with a fluid spill pic.twitter.com/6ijqYOghZP

— Midland Fire and Rescue (@midland_firenc) April 12, 2023

The cause of the crash is unknown at this time.

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Featuring locally-made products has become a movement among many shop owners, but one new general store features many of Stanly’s finest.

Brooks Mill Farms in Locust has been producing honey products made from its own apiary. The farm, whose roots were just across the border in Cabarrus County, has opened a new general store featuring many Stanly products.

The new store, on N.C. Highway 24-27 in Midland seven miles from Locust, features the farm’s honey along with honey-based personal products (soaps and lotions) and candles.

Owners Clint and Kasey Brooks, though, have expanded shelves to offer far more, including coffee roasted by REL Coffee in Locust.

In fact, an entire corner of the store features the sweet delights of the Albemarle Sweet Shop, including cream horns, fruit bars and more, along with fresh coffee.

“Local business means everything to us. It’s who we are; it’s how we started,” Kasey said about featuring local products.

She said it was the support of the community which made Brooks Mill Farms and she hopes to be a source for other local businesses.

“Local means so much more than just business. It’s family; It’s what provides sustainability for families. There’s so much heart and soul that gets put into (local products) that until you do it as a local entrepreneur you just do not understand.”

Produce like cantaloupes and watermelons raised by Clint’s brother Cody and sister-in-law Caela are offered along with peaches grown in Millingport by Peachberry Farms. Fresh tomatoes, bell peppers, potatoes, fresh corn and other vegetables are also sold.

Cheese lovers have a selection of North Carolina-made products as the new store sells Ashe County cheese, homemade butter and spreads.

From pet treats and accessories to strawberry candy and more, Brooks Mill’s store has the feel of an old-timey store. Display cases using repurposed old wood house vegetables and beauty products.

The history of Brooks Mill Farms goes back to the 1920s and Clint’s great-grandfather, Brown Wilson (B.W.) Brooks, whose farm sat on the Cabarrus-Mecklenburg county line. His family raised row crops, corn, and beans, along with livestock. The farm also had a cotton gin and a corn mill, while running a country store of their own, Allen and Brooks.

Brooks Mill Farm was eventually sold 12 years ago as Clint and others moved into the western part of Stanly.

“We always grew produce. When we moved, we started growing it a little more,” Clint said.

Having a degree in biology from Appalachian State, Clint got interested in honeybees first in terms of helping to pollinate crops.

“I got a couple of colonies and I kind of fell in love with it. It took off,” Clint said about raising bees.

Some of his products started to be sold around Stanly, including at the former Fresh House restaurant in Locust, along with its Old School Mills.

The interest in bees, Clint said, eventually grew to having breeder queen bees and raising them, which was five years ago.

With the growth in sales, the Brookses decided they needed a storefront, but not just for their own products.

“We started with just our products, but we saw that we could not do it all. When we said we wanted a storefront, we wanted to feature local people, local businesses,” Clint said.

The couple first got access to the Midland building back in February, but preparing the store to be open to the public “took a lot of late nights and long weekends,” Kasey said.

“We saw from the origination of the building we wanted to keep the history of this building,” she added, noting it was Madison Biggers’ old store nearly 100 years ago.

Now nearly a century later, the Brooks Mill honey products will be sold in a store which used to feature products all that time ago from what was then the only beehives in the area.

“‘We’re hopefully taking it back to a close origination of what the building was. That started the theme of what we wanted to carry though, the old-time history,” Kasey said.

Children who have never seen soda in a bottle can enjoy a cold, glass bottle taken from a 1950s Coca-Cola cooler.

The idea of the store, Kasey said, was for people to feel at home as soon as they walk through the door.

“We wanted to have the old-timey conversations…we wanted the younger generations to be able to experience that,” Kasey said. “We wanted kids to go back in time and crack the top off a bottle, get a cheese cracker with it.”

Faith is important to the Brooks in conjunction with family, Kasey said.

“We wanted (the store) to be a family fun atmosphere but also be able to step back in time, slow down and appreciate what God has given us, and that’s family,” Kasey said. “God has carried us a very long way. We know without Him, this is not possible.”

The Brooks’ idea for the store, along with the business side, was to be an outreach for God.

“We know that there are people in the community that desperately need to know Him. We know there are people who will never set foot in a church facility. If we can be that light to them, that’s what we’re here for, to carry his mission,” Kasey said.

The Brookses wanted to thank friends and family for helping them along the way of opening the store.

“We want them to be a part of us. There’s still a lot of people that don’t know this area,” Kasey said.

Kasey said many of the people who have visited the store did not know about the many local products available.

The store and farm’s slogan is “Quality is Our Directive,” not just as an example of faith but the idea of creating an experience for the whole family.

On their opening weekend, Clint said many families came by, purchased products and then enjoyed them on the picnic tables outside. It’s the idea of families taking the time to slow down and enjoy simple pleasures, he added.

“This is our focus. We want to highlight the local community to give them something that they want,” Clint said.

While they may not be able to provide everything to everyone, the Brooks Mill Farm can bring the best of Stanly to the world.

Kasey summed up the idea of the store.

“We’re just the facilitators; we’re just the vessel.”

About Charles Curcio

Charles Curcio has served as the sports editor of the Stanly News & Press for more than 16 years and has written numerous news and feature storeis as well. He was awarded the NCHSAA Tim Stevens Media Representative of the Year and named CNHI Sports Editor of the Year in 2014. He has also won an award from Boone Newspapers, and has won four North Carolina Press Association awards.

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Firefighters told WCNC Charlotte several factors made the battle much more difficult. Meanwhile, the owner and the community mourn the loss of a staple business.

STANLY COUNTY, N.C. — Multiple crews spent their Friday afternoon battling a massive fire that broke out at the Morgan Chair factory in Stanfield, and officials say they were facing a largely uphill fight.

Tyler Huntly with the West Stanly Fire Department said the call came in around 3:40 p.m. with crews arriving just minutes later. Huntly estimates about 20% of the factory was already burned when they started working and tried to fight it from the opposite side.

Huntly noted other departments then quickly arrived to help, including Midland Fire and Rescue, Ridge Crest, and Oak Burrow. Midland crews shared initial details about the response on Twitter.

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Midland Tower-1, Engine-3, Battalion Chief and the Fire Chief are assisting West Stanly Fire Dept with a Multi Alarm Fire in a large commercial building. Harrisburg Engine-33 is currently covering the Midland Fire District. pic.twitter.com/eihhI6ZvZ7

— Midland Fire and Rescue (@midland_firenc) September 16, 2022

Crews from both Union and Cabarrus counties also were able to respond.

Huntly said there was one employee still inside the factory at the time. Crews weren't able to get inside and search because of how large the fire was. However, the employee safely got out and no injuries were reported from the scene.

As for the condition of the factory, Huntly was blunt about the state it's in.

"It's a total loss," he told WCNC Charlotte reporter Austin Walker.

Huntly explained there were several factors that made the blaze much more difficult to tackle. One of them involved the factory's products, saying much of the foam used in the furniture is prone to fire.

"It's solid gas," he said. "Burns hot and very fast."

PHOTOS: Furniture plant fire in Stanfield, North Carolina

1 / 4

Austin Walker, WCNC Charlotte

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Another factor involved a water shortage. Huntly said this is something they expected being away from larger cities as the lines they use aren't big enough. Responding crews had to use a nearby pond and hydrant for water.

Yet another uphill battle for fire crews involved manpower. While West Stanly tries to have plenty of staff on hand, most who work with them are on a part-time or volunteer basis.

"We are underfunded and don't have the support from the county to fight a fire like this," said Huntly. "We have tried but we don't have the funding."

The final factor involved a lack of fire response inside the factory. Huntly said there were no sprinklers nor a fire alarm agency involved to quickly notify departments of a fire.

Huntly later confirmed the fire started in the back of the building. As of writing, what caused the fire remains unknown.

Crews still remained out at the scene more than four hours after the initial call. Flames also reignited at one point.

West Stanly Fire told us this is a different fire to fight.“We had limited water, limited staff & we are underfunded. We have asked the County for more money and never get it.”It’s been about 4 hours since the call came in and crews are still on scene. @wcnc pic.twitter.com/wn0yWI6aBd

— Austin Walker TV (@AustinCWalker) September 16, 2022

In the wake of the fire also came heartbreak. Ramsey Allen told WCNC Charlotte he spent his childhood inside the factory's walls and had deep family history with it.

"My grandfather built the building in 1961," he said. "It's like we just lost a family member."

Meanwhile, WCNC Charlotte learned Jesse Morgan, who owned the factory as his family business, is still reeling from how the day unfolded.

"I was just alone in my office working, and then I heard a noise," he said, "and when I walked back it was engulfed in flames."

Morgan rushed to get out as the smoke rose inside his business. He was able to escape, but admitted it wasn't easy for him.

"I ran through and I was not prepared. I lost my bearings, I got lost in the smoke," he said.

The Morgan Chair factory's loss has now been felt suddenly in the Stanfield community. Already, the family has seen support pour in. The next immediate step for the business involves money as Jesse Morgan figures out what's next for the people he employed.

Just as the factory went up in flames, Morgan admitted it's hard to tell what else is next through the smoke.

"I don't even want to think about that."

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