The search is on for a car that police say struck a woman and her two children as they crossed the street in South Philadelphia Tuesday afternoon.

The car, described by officials as a red 2001 two-door Honda Accord, was last seen traveling east on Dickinson Street from Broad, police said. Police say the driver struck the 30-year-old woman, her 5-year-old daughter and her 4-month-old son as they crossed the street about 12:50 p.m. but did not stop.

"It doesn't appear, at this time, with the information that I have, that the car slowed down and stopped," said Philadelphia Police Captain Drew Techner. "Instead the car fled eastbound on Dickinson Street from Broad Street."

NBC10 obtained surveillance video of the car striking the family and then speeding off. The impact threw the 5-year-old girl 20 feet into the street.

Christopher Tereo, who works near the scene of the crash, told NBC10 he witnessed the aftermath.

"I actually heard the young girl screaming and crying," Tereo said. "I saw the mom. She was lying on the ground. She was unconscious and I saw them holding the baby. It was pretty disturbing." 

The woman was taken to Hahnemann Hospital while her children were taken to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

"Whoever it was hit her hard," said Reverend Paul Moore, a witness who held the baby boy in his arms until medics arrived. "The mom couldn't say anything. The mother didn't care how hurt she was. She said, 'My children! My children!'"

The woman is being treated for head injuries and is currently in critical but stable condition. The 5-year-old girl suffered a broken leg and femur while the baby boy suffered scrapes to his head. Both children are in stable condition.

Witnesses say the hit-and-run vehicle is missing the passenger's side mirror.

Anyone with information on the vehicle or driver should call 9-1-1 or 215-685-3180.

The Department of Agriculture seized several malnourished animals on Monday including 32 horses, 80 chickens, several rabbits and two dogs from a facility in Connecticut, the agency said.

The investigation stems from a complaint filed in September by a woman who had leased four horses to the Fairy Tail Equine facility. The claim said after the woman picked up the horses they were hospitalized for malnutrition and parasites, a release from the Dept. of Agriculture said.

Upon an initial assessment done on Sept. 10, according to the department, "nearly half of the horses on the property were underweight and exhibiting signs of malnutrition including muscle wasting, protruding hip bones and visible ribs and spine." 

The assessment also found no hay or grain for the horses. Fairy Tail Equine's owner was instructed by animal control officers to have hay and clean water for the horses at all times and to obtain veterinary care for "numerous" horses for cracked hooves, the release said. 

An evaluation later found that "several" horses had anemia related to being malnourished, Dept. of Agriculture said. 

The department said the owner was instructed to provide the horses with 200 bales of hay a week and was given a list of other feeding and treatment. Animal control officers making regular visits to the facility observed some horses had put on weight and other had not.

On Dec. 4, animal control officers found the horses again without hay, grain or adequate water. Two horses drank "several gallons" of water immediately when officers poured it for them. During this time, the owner came back with a load of hay he had just picked up, officers told the Dept. of Agriculture.

The Dept. of Agriculture said it will continue the investigation to determine if criminal charges against the owner are warranted.

A warrant allowed the horses to be placed in the department's Second Chance rehabilitation facility in Niantic. The dogs, chickens and rabbits were taken to municipal shelters in nearby towns.

A GoFundMe account has been set up for the animals' rehabilitation.

Bernie Sanders appealed to a crowd of supporters on Tuesday in New Hampshire for residents to come out in large numbers to vote for him. 

The Iowa race Monday was so close the Democratic Party didn't announce a winner until Tuesday afternoon.

"We did extraordinarily well in Iowa," Sanders said from New Hampshire on Tuesday. "We took on the most powerful political organization in the country."

Sanders noted to the crowd that the New Hampshire primary would not be easy because of Hillary Clinton's "establishment support." 

The crowd was very active throughout his speech — getting up and cheering and waving signs constantly, and booing when he talked about Wall Street, Super PACS, and other institutions they don't like.

Hillary Clinton said her campaign received a boost from Iowa even if it was a slim one. But she said it's too early to make predictions about New Hampshire, which she called Bernie Sanders' "backyard."

Speaking during an MSNBC interview Monday, Clinton said, "Everybody said if there were a big turnout, that would advantage Sen. Sanders. There was a big turnout, and we won,"

Clinton eked out a victory in what was the closest Democratic caucus in Iowa's history. Sanders, who trailed Clinton in the Hawkeye State for most of the campaign, called the results a "virtual tie."

Sanders holds an edge in New Hampshire, where his New England roots have helped promote him ahead of the first-in-the-nation primary. Clinton and her allies have downplayed her chances for a victory in the state, arguing that voters there tend to favor candidates from their neck of the woods.

A Congressional hearing on the lead-poisoning crisis in Flint, Michigan was missing a key player on Tuesday: the state-appointed official who ordered the city's fateful switch in water sources that triggered the problem.

Lawyers for the official, Darnell Early, have said that he didn't get the subpoena from the House Oversight Committee in time to travel to Washington, and that he was too busy dealing with another crisis: deteriorating conditions in Detroit public schools.

The committee's chairman, Jason Chaffetz, said he would ask U.S. Marshals to "hunt him down" to make him testify.

Lawmakers, scientists, and officials from local and federal government fumed over the failure of Michigan officials, and the EPA, to deal with lead from corroded pipes leaching into Flint homes, leading to elevated levels of blood in thousands of city children.

Bernie Sanders said Wednesday his campaign is looking into contesting Hillary Clinton's razor-thin win over him in Tuesday's caucuses in Iowa.

"We're looking at it right now," the Vermont senator said on NBC's "Today" show. "But the important thing is that at the end of the day we came from nowhere to really startle the entire world."

The Iowa race Monday was so close the Democratic Party didn't announce a winner until Tuesday afternoon. Sanders lost to Clinton by just .3 percentage points, 49.6 percent to 49.9 percent, according to the Iowa Democratic Party.

"The Iowa caucus is so complicated it's not 100 percent sure that we didn't win it, Sanders said on NBC's "Today" show Wednesday morning. "But we feel fantastic. We came a long, long way in Iowa and now we're in New Hampshire. We have a lot of momentum." 

Clinton, who called New Hampshire Sanders' "backyard," won the state's Democratic primary in 2008.

The widow of Fox Lake Lt. Joe Gliniewicz, whose death last September was ruled a "carefully staged suicide," pleaded not guilty Wednesday on charges that allege she was a co-conspirator with her late husband during years of theft and criminal activity.

Melodie Gliniewicz was indicted on multiple counts of disbursing charitable funds without authority and for personal benefit and money laundering. She' appeared before a judge Wednesday where her attorney entered a not guilty plea.

The charges stemmed from her late husband's years of alleged crimes. Joe Gliniewicz ran the Fox Lake Police Explorer Youth Program until his death, which was initially investigated as a homicide. In November, authorities ruled his death a suicide, saying he had staged it to look like a murder, fearing his thefts of the program’s funds would come to light.

Gliniewicz's felony charges carry a max sentence of three to 14 years in jail as well as a $25,000 fine in convicted. Her next court date is scheduled for Feb. 26.

Investigators said Joe Gliniewicz stole thousands of dollars from the youth group over seven years to spend on personal expenses, including family vacations, adult websites and payments to businesses such as Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts Fox Lake Theatre and more than 400 restaurants.

Melodie Gliniewicz held a "fiduciary role as an adult advisor with the Fox Lake Police Explorer Post," according to investigators.

Authorities in Lake County have since obtained a seizure order for five bank accounts associated with her, along with two credit card accounts. The new seizure order covers financial accounts that are believed to still contain funds from the Fox Lake Explorers.

In a statement, her attorneys said Melodie Gliniewicz is an innocent victim of her late husband's secrecy.

"Considering Melodie’s cooperation with law enforcement, she is devastated by the decision to bring charges against her," a statement from Kelleher & Buckley, LLC read. "Melodie is a victim of her husband’s secret actions and looks forward to her day in Court to show the world her innocence."

 A person at San Diego Mesa College has been diagnosed with tuberculosis, the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) reported Tuesday. 

County health officials are warning people who may have been exposed to the disease between Oct. 23 and Dec. 17 to get tested. It is unclear if the infected person was a student, faculty member or school official.

TB generally requires many hours of close, sustained indoor contact to spread. 

“Most people who are exposed to TB do not develop the disease, but those who have been exposed need to be identified because it can be treated and cured with medication,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer, in a statement.

School officials are offering free testing to students, faculty and staff who may have been exposed. The testing will take place at the Mesa College Student Health Services building in room I4-209 starting Feb. 1. It will continue as needed. 

Symptoms of active TB include cough, fever, night sweats and unexplained weight loss

According to health officials, TB has been decreasing in San Diego County, though it is not uncommon, Wooten said. There were 234 cases reported in 2015 and 220 cases reported in 2014 in San Diego County. 

Call the County TB Control Program at 619-692-8621 for more information about the potential exposure.

In a recent sting, the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) of California busted 15 contractors operating illegally in San Diego County – offering their unlicensed services to homeowners impacted by El Niño storms.

On Jan. 26 and Jan. 27, CSLB’s Statewide Investigative Fraud Team (SWIFT) invited suspected unlicensed contractors to a home in Tierrasanta to place bids for home improvement projects including replacing a leaking garage roof, installing new concrete with drains to prevent flooding, replacement of a wooden fence and other non-storm-related jobs.

Investigators chose the contractors based on prior complaints and by combing through ads on Craigslist and local newspapers.

The two-day sting resulted in 15 unlicensed contractors placing bids on the home improvement projects, ranging from $1,200 for re-roofing to $9,000 for concrete work.

According to the CSLB, a state contractor license is required for any bid over $500 for the total costs of labor and material.

The suspects were each given a misdemeanor citation for contracting without a license. Twelve suspects were also cited for a misdemeanor charge of illegal advertising. State law requires unlicensed contractors to state in all advertising that they are not licensed, the CSLB said.

Investigators said three of the suspects were repeat offenders who were previously cited on illegal contracting charges during other similar CSLB stings.

One suspect, Breck Pemberton, was also found to have active warrants out for his arrest in Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

Investigators said Pemberton allegedly admitted to taking $9,700 for a job he never started. Currently, Pemberton is on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Wanted Persons list for larceny.

CSLB officials said one suspect, who was supposed to only place a bid for a kitchen remodel, noticed a tarp placed over the leaking roof of the Tierrasanta home and offered to fix that instead.

Investigators said this proves that many illegal contractors are taking this time – amid the strong, and in some cases, damaging El Niño storms – to “prey” on consumers as they prepare to safeguard their homes.

“We understand the sense of urgency consumers have to make sure their homes are protected from the rain and possible floods,” said CSLB Registrar Cindi Christenson. “But it’s very important to take the time to check the license first and find qualified licensed contractors for these types of home improvement jobs.”

Investigators said they also cited one of the 15 suspects, Carlos M. Soliz, of Wildomar, Calif., for charging an excessive down payment for a home improvement project. The law states a down payment can be no more than 10 percent of the total contract price or $1,000 – whichever is less.

The CSLB said the following San Diego-based contractors were busted in this operation:

• Daniel Flores Bernal (Bernal’s Concrete in Lemon Grove)
• Kiet T. Duong (Pro Fencing in San Diego)
• Timothy Lee Dye (of San Diego)
• Humberto Miguel (Elvira Home Repairs in San Diego)
• Santiago Jimenez (of Spring Valley)
• Joseph Eric Linn (of Escondido)
• Humberto Munoz (of San Diego)
• Breck Pemberton (of San Diego, wanted in Florida)
• Andrew Appleby (All American Hardwoods in San Diego)
• Arnulfo Castillo Garcia (of Escondido)
• Adan Rios-Hernandez (All American Hardwoods in San Diego)
• Randall Dean Houser (of Spring Valley)
• Pablo Rivas (SteelWorks in National City)
• Carlos M. Soliz (of Wildomar)
• David Quezada (of San Diego)

Officials said the suspects are scheduled to appear in San Diego County Superior Court on March 21, March 22 and March 23.

As El Niño conditions persist, the CSLB said this sting should serve as a warning to homeowners “to be cautious of unlicensed workers advertising for roof repairs and other flood prevention jobs.”
 

A San Diego-area high school student has earned a perfect score on her advanced placement Spanish Language exam, making her one of only 55 students in the world to accomplish the impressive academic feat.

Grecia Perez-Carillo, a senior at Southwest High School in the Sweetwater Union High School District, earned every point possible on her AP Spanish Language examination in spring 2015.

Southwest High School Principal Lee Romero proudly shared the news of the student’s success after he received a letter on Jan. 12 from AP exam officials announcing Perez-Carillo’s accomplishment.

“I am very proud of this young lady,” said Romero. “Her future is limitless.”

The local student was one of only 55 students in the world to earn every point possible on the AP Spanish Language test. Last month, a 17-year-old math wiz in Los Angeles made headlines with a similar achievement, earning a perfect score on his AP Calculus exam, also taken last spring.

“Looking across approximately 4.5 million AP exams taken by 2.5 million U.S. public high schools in 2015, only 322 students earned every point possible on an AP exam,” Romero said, calling Perez-Carillo's score a “rare accomplishment.”

Perez-Carillo is currently enrolled in four AP classes at her high school: Spanish Literature; English Literature; Government; Environmental Science.

Her AP Spanish Language teacher, Dianna Sevilla, has been teaching Spanish at the high school for 17 years, Romero said.

According to the principal, when Perez-Carillo first arrived at Southwest High School as a freshman, she had limited English language proficiency. Within a year of English Learner program classes, she was taking AG College Prep courses in English.

Southwest High School is located at 1685 Hollister St. in San Diego’s Nestor community and serves more than 1,700 students in grades nine through 12.
 

An embattled San Diego Unified School board member, accused of holding a fundraiser to pay for her son's school tuition, entered a guilty plea to one count of receiving gifts in excess of the legal limit Tuesday, the San Diego County District Attorney's office said. A judge ordered Marne Foster to resign her position on the SDUSD school board.

According to her plea agreement, Foster will serve three years of probation, will spend 120 hours doing community service and will pay a fine and restitution, the DA's office said. Her resignation was tendered Wednesday morning and is effective Feb. 7. Foster will not be allowed to run for any office for four years. 

The DA’s office initially opened up a criminal investigation into Foster last year. Shortly after, the DA’s office served a search warrant to the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD), seeking information about the former board president. 

Foster was charged with one count of receiving gifts in excess of the legal limit, $460 per year, and not reporting it. She failed to report a gift of approximately $2,000. 

She filed forms in 2015 without listing gifts from that source. She amended the forms, but that does not absolve her from potential criminal implications. 

In her guilty plea, Foster wrote, "a family member received gifts which qualified as gifts to me. Therefore, I received gifts in excess of the legally allowable limit..." under the government code. 

Defense attorney Adam Gordon said Foster wants to take accountability and put this incident behind her. 

"She is emotionally having a very difficult time, but she wanted to be accountable," Gordon said. 

Foster was already the center of a civil investigation, ordered by her fellow school board members, to determine if she orchestrated a $250,000 complaint filed against the SDUSD by her son’s father.

She has previously apologized for holding a July benefit to raise money for her sons’ tuition. In attendance were people who presented possible conflicts of interest, such as contractors who work with the district and employees who may seek favors in return. Foster pledged to return the money.

Linda Zintz, Communications Director for the district, released this statement on Foster's resignation:

“Trustee Foster tendered her resignation today, to be effective Feb. 7, 2016. It will be filed this afternoon with the County Office of Education as required.

"We were informed by the District Attorney’s office that her resignation was a term of the plea agreement made today. In the coming weeks, the Board will evaluate the process to be used to fill the vacancy caused by her resignation.”

At Tuesday night's SDUSD board meeting, Trustee John Lee Evans told NBC 7 they will need to appoint someone to fill Foster's seat.

"We really need to revisit some of the issues brought up by the grand jury last summer in terms of the perception that a board member was influencing personnel decisions," said Evans.

He is concerned there is now going to be a perception that the board trustees can influence the superintendent, which is not true, he said.

Trustee Kevin Beiser said it all happened suddenly. News of a plea deal came as a surprise to the board.

"Trustee Marne Foster has done a considerable amount of very positive work," Beiser said. "Unfortunately all of that, you know, is meaningless because of her conduct, and that's really unfortunate."

Also at the meeting were school activists, who have been calling for Foster's resignation since allegations first arose against her.

Activist Sally Smith told NBC 7 she believes there is much more going on.

"I regret that there wasn't a trial to reveal the depth of corruption in this school district, and this school district needs to look closely at itself and the policies it has so it doesn't happen again," said Smith.

In a third issue, administrators at the School of Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA), where Foster’s son attended class, have accused the board trustee of using her influence to remove the principal and punish a head counselor.

In December 2013, Foster called SDUSD Superintendent Cindy Marten, furious about a negative college evaluation written about her son by the school’s Head Counselor Kim Abagat. Marten said she instructed Foster, who was complaining as a parent and not a trustee, to take the issue up with the district’s head of counseling or the school’s principal.

The SCPA soon contracted an independent investigator to look into Foster’s allegations against Abagat. As a result, Abagat was suspended nine days without pay, and another counselor wrote a more positive evaluation for Foster’s son, according to Abagat.

At the end of that school year, Mitzi Lizarraga, the SCPA’s principal at the time, was reassigned to a new position in the district. Lizarraga said she is “positive” that she was reassigned because of Foster.

Marten said Foster had every right to raise her concerns as a parent, and the superintendent maintains pressure from Foster had no effect on her decision to move Lizarraga.

Last year, the father of Foster’s son, John Marsh, filed a $250,000 claim against the district, saying the negative evaluation caused his son to be rejected by multiple colleges. The claim says the family had a right to the money to recuperate costs of counseling for the student and the loss of tuition aid.

However, Marsh told NBC 7’s media partner the Voice of San Diego he did not write the claim – Foster did. He claims Foster presented him with a blank complaint form and told him to sign it. Foster has said she had no part in the claim.

The SDUSD board voted in Michael McQuary as the new board president to replace Foster in 2015. Beiser said the move was part of a routine, annual switch, not linked to the investigations.

More women and children are trying to reach Europe than adult men for the first time since the refugee crisis began, according to UNICEF, NBC News reported.

There has been a "major spike" in the numbers of children and women on the move since June 2015, when men made up 73 percent of the migration flow, UNICEF.

It said children and women now make up nearly 60 percent of refugees and migrants crossing the border from Greece to Gevgelijia in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The United Nation's children's agency warned that children account for 36 percent of the migrants risking the treacherous sea crossing between Greece and Turkey — and that the real figure could be higher.

Three Palestinians carrying automatic weapons, knives and explosives were killed by police in Jerusalem on Wednesday after they attacked female police officers, authorities said, NBC News reported.

Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said at least one of the suspects opened fire at the checkpoint of the city's Damascus Gate. Two female police officers were hospitalized — one in critical condition, police and the Hadassah hospital told NBC News.

Samri told NBC News that security officials became suspicious Wednesday when the three suspects arrived at the Gate. One of the men handed over his identification card and another began shooting, according to Samri. The men were from the Jenin area of the West Bank, she said. 

Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul said Wednesday he's dropping out of the race for the White House. 

The Kentucky senator, who finished with 5 percent of the vote in Monday's Iowa caucuses, said in a statement, "It's been an incredible honor to run a principled campaign for the White House. Today, I will end where I began, ready and willing to fight for the cause of Liberty."

Paul said he hopes to win another term as Kentucky senator. 

"Across the country thousands upon thousands of young people flocked to our message of limited government, privacy, criminal justice reform and a reasonable foreign policy. Brushfires of Liberty were ignited, and those will carry on, as will I," Paul said in the statement. 

Ryan Murphy, a member of the Denver Broncos' practice squad, was questioned and released by Bay Area sheriff's deputies during a prostitution sting Tuesday.

Authorities determined Murphy was not involved in illegal activity at the Motel 6 off Brokaw Road in San Jose and he was released, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department.

The Santa Clara County Human Trafficking Task Force was conducting the sting, authorities said. 

Sources tell NBC Bay Area Murphy was seen with his brother and a female passenger in a vehicle at the Motel 6. The woman went into the motel and then returned to the car, sources said. At that point, members of the task force swooped in on the car and its passengers.

Murphy's brother and the female were cited for alleged prostitution activity but were not arrested. The brother and woman allegedly knew each other.

Sheriff’s spokesperson Sgt. James Jensen said there have been several stings conducted over the last few days in which 10 men were cited and released, and 20 women acting as prostitutes were offered help.

Broncos Head Coach Gary Kubiak in a statement late Tuesday said the team sent Murphy back to Denver.

"Although practice squad safety Ryan Murphy was not cited by police, we decided it was best for the team if we continued our preparations for Super Bowl 50 without him," Kubiak said in a statement. "Ryan is returning to Denver but his status as a practice squad player has not changed at this time."

Murphy, a Bay Area native who attended Oakland Tech, was drafted 248th by the Seattle Seahawks in the 7th round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

The Broncos will face the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 in nearby Santa Clara on Sunday. Coincidentally, former NFL safety Eugene Robinson, who was arrested the night before the Super Bowl in 1999 for solicitation of a prostitute, spent part of the day Tuesday warning Panthers players "not to do what I did."

A mini city inside a city, a convention center turned into Disneyland for football fans and a tech-savvy NFL that will do anything it takes to impress (VR included).

Broncos and Panthers supporters are soaking it all up in San Francisco, but locals are not too happy (think tourists, tight-security, blocked streets, traffic, and even more traffic).

Those who work inside Super Bowl City limits along the Embarcadero are having to go through airport-like security as lines snake around entire blocks (not to mention K-9 units who keep sniffing at their bikes). There's mixed reaction on social media about all the "big guns" law enforcement are carrying around inside Super Bowl City — while some think it's a good idea after the recent Paris attacks, others describe it as scary and unnecessary.

Even with all the tight security, equipment said to be used for Snoop Dogg's live shows was reportedly stolen from an SUV in San Francisco.

Both visitors and Bay Area residents can be heard discussing media reports on how San Francisco's homeless are being "herded" out of Super Bowl City. Protesters are taking advantage of the Super Bowl limelight as well — staging impromptu rallies and demonstrations.

Then there's the whole "Why does San Francisco get to have all the fun" complaint — South Bay residents are not happy that San Francisco is hosting both Super Bowl City and the NFL Experience, while Santa Clara, where the actual game is going to take place, or its next door neighbor, San Jose, gets nothing.

"We are calling it the Silicon valley Bowl or Bay Area Bowl," San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo told NBC Bay Area at a Super Bowl Host Committee press conference Monday. "San Jose is doing great. We all benefit from this," Liccardo said, urging everyone to come out and enjoy the celebration.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee touted the philanthrophic nature of the event, describing it as the most "giving" Super Bowl ever. San Francisco won't be reimbursed for hosting Super Bowl, a sore issue with some residents.

Super Bowl Host Committee CEO and President Keith Bruce said that tens of thousands of locals have visited Super Bowl City since it opened last weekend. "We touted it as locals weekeend, so Bay Area residents could come and enjoy everything ... Each day more and more fans from around the country — not just Panthers and Broncos fans — will be coming in to enjoy all that we have to offer."

San Jose did get to host a Media Night extravaganza on Tuesday, with a little help from the NFL. Peyton Manning, Cam Newton and Miss Universe made an appearance, as did an orange-and-blue leprechaun.

Manning talked about his legacy, Newton showed off his trivia skills and Josh Norman donned a Nacho Libre mask. And, the Panthers were named the "Best Bearded Team" by Head & Shoulders.

Here's a look as #SB50 and #NFLExperience take over San Francisco.

In 2015, a record-breaking number of people were exonerated for crimes they were found to be innocent of after a guilty sentencing and serving time, NBC News reported. 

There were a total of 149 people who spent an average of 15 years in prison before being cleared last year, according to a new report out Wednesday from the National Registry of Exonerations, a project at the University of Michigan Law School.

The convictions ranged from low level offenses to major felonies, including 54 murder convictions that were overturned. Five of the convicts were awaiting execution and were saved last year when courts ruled they didn't belong in the prison in the first place.

Of the people wrongly convicted for homicides, the report notes, "more than two-thirds were minorities, including half who were African American."

Fence companies across San Diego County are scrambling to keep up with all of the damage left behind from strong winds on Sunday and Monday.

“This was in my opinion one of our biggest wind events that we've had in 10 to 15 years as a whole county,” said Mike Lepetri, general manager at Alpine Fence. Instead of just a small area impacted by wind, the storm swept through the whole county, leaving damage in nearly all of the neighborhoods.

Lepetri has been in the fence industry his whole life. So when the wind howled over the weekend, he said, “we're going to bed thinking tomorrow's going to be busy.”

And that’s exactly what happened. On Monday, Alpine Fence received more than 300 calls from people across the county with damaged fences. That’s more than six times the number of calls the company might receive over a regular weekend.

“Monday the phones were off the hook,” Lepetri said. And he has heard it’s the same story at other fence companies.

When it comes to repairing and replacing fences, the Alpine Fence’s top priority is homes with pools and pets.

Other homeowners like Steve Graham got lucky and had their fences fixed on Tuesday. Graham had already scheduled an appointment that day even before the storm for some minor damage to his fence. Little did he know the powerful wind on Sunday would knock over a large section of his iron fence.

“Yeah it's metal but it was that strong. It was that strong, so it was crazy,” Graham said. “The entire section was just blown down. The winds were just really horrendous around here, so a lot of damage. We got lucky; it was relatively minimal,”

Alpine Fence crews welded the fence back together and then reinforced the entire fence with metal posts.

Lepetri said these days, vinyl fences are the most popular because of how long they last. Others prefer wood because of the way it looks. But Lepetri said wood begins aging the day it's installed, though it could still last up to 15 years.

When do you need to replace the fence? Lepetri recommends waiting until it's really necessary. “When you do see them wobbly, when you see them compromised and you have pets or pools, then you need to think about doing it before an event forces your hand to do it," he said.

And when it is time to replace, get ready to pay much more than a couple hundred dollars.

“Ha ha. It's a lot more expensive than that,” Graham said.

“It's often shocking to people. We get that a lot. Some people expect to pay $500 and you get out there and it’s significantly more,” Lepetri said. A hundred feet of wood fence for example can come out to be more than $2,000. Of course, it depends on the extent of the damage, the terrain, etc.

Still, if the fence is damaged, someone needs to fix it.

The phones are still ringing “off the hook” at Alpine Fence. But Lepetri expects the calls to die down by the end of the week. The work, on the other hand, is far from over.

Lepetri expects they will be replacing damaged fences from this windstorm all the way into November.