Web Exclusive! Heavy Equipment Crucial to Clearing Tornado-Damaged Sites
by Tim Fausch
February 13, 2007
An army of heavy equipment operators has arrived to clear the debris left in the swath of the tornado that hit north-central Florida on Feb. 2.
Lady Lake, FL -- The tornado that smashed homes and a church in this central Florida town north of Orlando on Friday, Feb. 2, left a swath of destruction far too large for survivors to handle. Fortunately, an army of heavy equipment operators arrived to clear these sites.
Tom Boyd, whose mother and sister miraculously survived a direct hit to their home, said the emergency services have been outstanding. "They must have hired every tree-trimming truck in the county, because they've done a great job of clearing the downed trees and creating access.”
Demolition crews were in the mobile home park Tuesday, removing vast amounts of metal, wood and other debris left by the tornado. Clean-up crews included private contractors, city and county services, homeowners, volunteers, and even local prisoners.
Among the crews working onsite is Greenwood & Son Contracting, a local outfit based in Grand Island, Florida, that has been in business for 37 years. Its fleet of John Deere dozers and Hitachi excavators is running almost nonstop to load and haul away debris.
And, as Glen Greenwood points out, it’s not an easy job to do. “You’ve got a lot of people in shock still,” he says. “They just lost their home, so you have to handle the situation with kid gloves. As time goes on, they’re starting to face reality. And we’re trying to help them out as much as we can.”
Lady Lake, population 12,700, took a direct hit from the tornado. According to one resident, the twister "skipped east" through the area before smashing the Lady Lake Church of God and then destroying much of the Sunshine Mobile Home Park. There were 20 deaths locally, including at least seven in the mobile home park.
Editor’s Note:
Site Prep publishing director Tim Fausch was in Orlando to attend the International Builders Show. Before the show opened he visited Lady Lake, Florida, the epicenter of the deadly tornado that hit Feb. 2, 2007.
One survivor, Cornelius "Sonny" Rogers, said he awoke just before 3 a.m. and heard "continuous thunder" before a 2 x 4 came through the wall of his mobile home missing his head by mere inches. He rode out the rest of the storm in a closet. His home survived but is now unsafe.
Greenwood & Son Contracting will have all the work it can handle. Dozens of mobile homes are destroyed or beyond repair.
This Kubota unit moved lots of downed trees during the cleanup.
The destruction of this home resulted in several deaths.
Tom Boyd's mother survived the tornado's impact when a dresser kept two remaining walls of a converted garage from crushing her as she slept. His sister, who was sleeping in a mobile home just a feet away, was less fortunate. The entire structure was ripped from its foundation and blown into pieces 2t yards away. Emergency workers pulled her from the wreckage alive and she is recovering.
Crosses and a fallen steeple are among the few recognizable items that remain at Lady Lake Church of God.
Tim Fausch
fauscht@bnpmedia.com
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