Although blue skies and sun shone over the region on Saturday, tornado cleanup efforts persisted along with worries about homes left precarious by Wednesday's storms.
Massachusetts National Guard troops keep watch over a closed-off section of Central Street in the hard-hit Six Corners neighborhood, which was among the areas affected by Wednesday's tornadoes.By Republican Staff Writers Robert Rizzuto and Stephanie Barry
Although blue skies and sun shone over the region on Saturday, tornado cleanup efforts persisted along with worries about homes left precarious by Wednesday's storms.
"This HOME was filled with love for 22 years," read a sign on the front of Julie Ives' house at 123 Pennsylvania Avenue in Springfield, the apex of the damage in the city's hard-hit East Forest Park neighborhood.
The end of the note cautioned voyeurs to stay away from the storm-ravaged street -- a sentiment echoed by Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, who made it clear that tornado tourists are unhelpful and unwanted in neighborhoods where cleanup efforts continue.
"I wanted people to stay off my property," Ives said, referring to the curious who had
strolled through the post-war, tight-knit street pummeled by the cluster of twisters that
touched down in an unlikely spot three days ago.
Ives' chief worry was that a mysterious demolition crew would mow down her house and its contents without warning, a concern she raised at a city-sponsored neighborhood meeting at Holy Cross school's gymnasium on Saturday evening.
Residents of 19 communities in central and western Massachusetts woke to widespread damage Thursday, a day after a series of tornadoes of varying magnitude ripped through the region."A buddy of mine was told he had two hours to clear out of his house," she told city officials. "Will you call me?"
A collective of municipal officials organized the part-rally, part-information session at the school in Ward 7, a condensed, residential part of the city that was brutalized by tornadoes that transformed Springfield and other parts of the region.
At the school's gymnasium, Sarno told residents that police and fire were rallying around
them.
"This isn't Disney World, this is a disaster area," Sarno told a few hundred people
gathered in the gym, to resounding applause.
City officials told homeowners to move construction debris and branches separately onto the tree belt. They will provide replacement barrels as needed.
Parts of Springfield resembled a war zone after Wednesday's tornadoes tore through the city.Utility concerns were providing the most angst beyond destruction. A spokeswoman for Western Massachusetts Electric Co. said it employed 150 workers from as far away as Michigan, and used more than 100,000 feet of cable, 180 new utility poles and 225 new transformers.
About 800 homes were without power Saturday evening off Plumtree Road, with most expected to be back on line by Sunday morning.
Elsewhere, while much of Wilbraham was cleared of trees and power was restored by Saturday morning, there were pockets of the town still struggling.
"From the time I wake up until the time I go to bed, I've been clearing my land," Robert L. Matthews, a landowner on Bolles Road, said on Saturday. "Friends made it a lot easier."
Matthews cleared about five acres of land over the past three days.
"Look, there's the patio set," friend Lisa M. Taylor said of a mangled chunk of metal wedged in some trees in Matthews' backyard.
From his back yard, one can spot the path the twister took through Wilbraham mountain.
"I have severe damage throughout the forest, which I recently logged. But now it looks like a bunch of matchsticks," Matthews said.
In the neighborhoods damaged by the tornadoes, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army have mobile units providing food and water to residents and workers. There are also several student, church and community groups making their way around to ensure victims have whatever they need.
Additionally, three food sites have been set up around the city to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner to anyone in need. They include the gym at Holy Cross Catholic Church at 21 Plumtree Road, Milton Bradley Elementary School at 22 Mulberry St., and the St. Anthony Maronite Church at 375 Island Pond Road. More information is available by calling 311 from a landline phone or 736-3111 on a cellphone.
City residents with housing needs are being cared for at two locations. families are being housed at Central High School, while individuals are being cared for at the new Friends of the Homeless shelter.
Among other relief efforts, Springfield Partners and The Food Bank of Western Mass.
will continue to distribute food, water and personal care items on Monday to those to tornado victims.
Distribution will be in the rear parking lot of Springfield Partners' 721 State St. offices on Monday, June 6, from 2:30 p.m. until about 5 p.m. The groups are also seeking donations of water and personal hygiene items, which may be dropped off at 721 State St. after 8 a.m. Monday.