Thornbury recovers, with a little help from their friends
The TV news vans are gone. The roads are open again. The power is back on.
But life remains anything but normal in one Thornbury Township neighborhood.
That’s what happens when an EF2 tornado pays a visit to your town.
It was a week ago when the twister, packing winds up to 135 miles per hour, slammed into the Cobblestones at Thornbury development. Chelsea Lane was ground zero. It looked like a bomb went off.
It was brief, but it packed a powerful punch. In about 30 seconds, a handful of homes were destroyed, and dozens of others damaged.
The storm sparked damage across the county, in particular not far away in Edgmont, where dozens of trees were uprooted by what is believed to be straightline winds. Thousands were without power; traffic was a mess, as drivers tried to navigate roads that were littered with debris and downed trees.
But none of that compared to what greeted residents at the morning light in Thornbury. The storm hit about 11:30 Thursday night. Friday morning a small army of local, county and national weather officials had converged on Chelsea Lane. Their observation: Total devastation.
Miraculously, no one was seriously injured. Several residents were evacuated from their damaged homes late Thursday night and spent the night at a shelter set up at a local school.
When they returned to what used to be their homes Friday morning, few could believe what they saw.
“What you are seeing behind me is devastation,” said Thornbury Commissioners Chairman Jim Raith, who led the squadron of first responders and emergency workers.
Residents offered thanks that no one was hurt or killed in the fierce storm, to a person noting that their homes can be rebuilt, but their lives cannot.
By Saturday, they realized they were not alone in their resolve. A small army of friends, neighbors and even total strangers convened in the small neighborhood to help in the cleanup.
“It’s like a party,” was the way one homeowner, John Hughes, described the atmosphere. “It was unbelievable,” noting how the street and yards were filled with kids and grownups looking to lend a hand in the cleanup as they picked up the tattered pieces of what just a few hours before had been luxury homes, tossed about like matchsticks by the power of Mother Nature.
Another resident, Rich Celeste, marveled at the ability of such misfortune to unite the community.
“Nobody got seriously hurt,” Celeste said. “And this brings everybody together.”
Raith said the community was overwhelmed with offers to help, including a church group from Montgomery County, and an organization of military veterans called Team Rubicon that sent a team to lend a hand. PECO brought in crews from other states to help in the effort to restore power.
By Monday, the roads in the area were open again. Only a handful of customers were still without power.
Work crews, in particular tree experts, were in demand.
It will be weeks, if not months, before life returns to normal for the residents of Chelsea Lane.
It will take time to rebuild their homes. But they’ve already got a great start in rebuilding their lives.
As is so often the case in the worst of circumstances, a silver lining often appears.
Mother Nature huffed and puffed, and blew their houses down. But, at least for a few hours and days, she also blew away the bitterness and division that seems to have invaded so much of our lives.
A community came together, rallying together to support one another, united in the face of utter destruction.
We salute all those who turned out to help their neighbors in need. And for reminding us that we are not liberal or conservative; Democrat or Republican; black, white or brown; wealthy or impoverished; educated or street smart; hell, even Eagles or Cowboys fans. OK, maybe not Cowboys fans.
We are living, breathing human beings, and it is that humanity that we always bank on when things appear most dire.
Just as they did last weekend in Thornbury.
They will recover.
With a little help from their friends.
If only we could act with such splendid compassion, humanity and concern for one another more often.
The storm sparked damage across the county, in particular not far away in Edgmont, where dozens of trees were uprooted by what is believed to be straightline winds. Thousands were without power; traffic was a mess, as drivers tried to navigate roads that were littered with debris and downed trees.