BELMONT —A severe thunderstorm passing through the Lakes Region Wednesday night knocked trees and power lines onto houses, cars, and power lines were down in parts of Belmont and Tilton.

The storm, which hit the area about 7 p.m., knocked a tree over Route 3 near Aaron's store in Belmont, according to Belmont fire officials.

The tree landed on a car in the eastbound lane. The driver was stuck in the vehicle briefly, and Route 3 was closed for about 10 minutes as the tree was removed, fire officials said.

On Sunset Drive, the storm brought many trees down, some on houses, and live wires were exposed for a period, but firefighters and repair crews from Public Service of New Hampshire arrived at the scene quickly, and the residents were not injured, fire officials said.

At 7:30 p.m. on Hill Road in Tilton, which is directly across Lake Winnisquam from Sunset Drive, at least 10 trees were reported down on vehicles and houses.

Firefighters used chain saws to reach some of the residents who were briefly trapped in their homes by live power wires, fire officials said. No injuries were reported.

More than 450 people in Belmont and almost 100 people were reported without power by Public Service of New Hampshire at 8 p.m.

dseufert@newstote.com