The Whip City got hit by the June 1 tornado, but it didn't get whipped nearly as badly as other parts of the region, where businesses, homes and trees were destroyed, leveled and uprooted.
The EF3 tornado touched down in Westfield and headed eastward.WESTFIELD -- This city considers itself lucky – or more lucky than neighboring communities.
The June 1 tornadoes spared Westfield’s 41,000 residents the severe damage inflicted as the storms sped across Hampden County, and now all that remains here is for homeowners to attend to clearing the last of the debris from their properties.
“Westfield was lucky,” said emergency management director Jimmy D. Wiggs. “There was damage, but not nearly as much in other communities. I am happy with Westfield’s response to the emergency. That response shows how great our community is in a time of need.”
It was Westfield’s southeastern neighborhoods of Shaker Heights, Glenwood Heights, Birch Bluff and Knollwood where one of the tornadoes touched down before launching on a destructive path through the region.
The storm only lasted seconds in Westfield, striking Munger Hill Elementary School at 4:16 p.m. on its way to east.
In all, 250 residential homes suffered some damage, ranging from broken windows to ripped roofs. Three were listed as extensively damage, one on Glenwood Drive, one in Birch Bluff and 266 Shaker Road, which was eventually condemned because of the tree piercing its roof, according to Wiggs.
Munger Hill, located on Mallard Lane, was closed June 2 and 3 because of a section of its roof was torn off by the storm. A 20-foot section of the steel roofing wound up dumped some 300 feet away in a swimming pool of a home at 84 Cardinal Lane.
Despite erroneous reports by state officials that two deaths had occurred in Westfield, the city recorded no serious injuries from the storm among its citizenry.
Electrical power was lost to about 4,500 customers of Westfield Gas & Electric Department because of storm damage here and to two Northeast Utility transmission lines originating in Agawam.
The municipal utility was able to have power restored to 80 percent of those customers in less than two hours, and to the remaining customers within 48 hours. Crews from municipal electric departments in Chicopee, Holyoke, Russell and South Hadley helped with the restoration work.
“Initially I thought it would take many days for our crews to repair the damage,” said Westfield utility manager Daniel Howard. “I never could have imagined that we would get everyone back in service in just over 48 hours. Dedication and teamwork by all involved in the event was truly impressive.”
A satellite office of the Hampden Registry of Deeds, normally closed on Thursdays, opened on June 2 to handle business for the main office at the Hall of Justice in Springfield which was closed by the tornado. It managed to collect $6,000 in fees and closing costs on real estate transactions in a single day.
Wiggs characterized volunteer efforts as “heartwarming. It was neighbor helping neighbor,” he said. He added that he hopes city residents reach out to their neighbors in other communities to help with the recovery and rebuilding effort across the region.
He and Mayor Daniel M. Knapik said a beautification project will be launched in the fall to restore the school grounds with new tree plantings and to remove stumps from those damaged in the tornado.
“I am proud of this city’s response to the emergency,” said Knapik. “I am proud of the response by city workers, volunteers and for the mutual aid we received. Westfield was lucky in a sense because the impact could have been a lot greater than it was. Everyone pulled together in the response. It was heartwarming to see neighbors helping neighbors.”
Friendly’s restaurant on East Main Street was joined by the Munger Hill School cafeteria staff in providing more than 400 meals, 30 cases of water and ice cream for the volunteers as they worked cleanup duty.
Westfield State University President Evan S. Dobelle offered the city use of the campus, if necessary, as a temporary site for the school; and the university hosted a meeting of the state School Building Authority. The meeting was held on June 8 after state treasurer Steven Grossman and authority director Katherine Craven toured schools in Springfield as well as Munger Hill School to assess damage. They promised assistance to both communities in repairing the damage.