ATHOL – M.E. Kane of Athol went to West Dennis, Massachusetts on Wednesday to do some scheduled work and witnessed the aftermath of one of the two rare tornadoes that touched down on Cape Cod the day before.
“Basically it came up through Martha’s Vineyard and went through West Yarmouth,” and into West Dennis, a quarter of a mile away from her work location where there was minor tree damage.
Kane said the impact is “treacherous for line workers and homeowners,” and met people who were happy to talk to her and wanted others to know of the severity of the situation. “I think there’s a general sense of isolation when the power is out and the whole neighborhood looks different,” she said.
Kane walked through neighborhoods that are “tightly packed with houses,” and found piled up limbs and trees that blocked driveways and covered streets. She said she constantly heard sirens, chainsaws and generators.
Kane said tree services were on-site to clear out areas for power companies and heard on the radio that power is estimated to be restored by Friday.
Two Clydesdale horses were brought in to haul out debris with chains because a tree service from Vermont couldn’t fit the bucket truck into the yard.
“What struck me most is how the people I ended up speaking with, who are still without electricity and have been working hard all day, were willing to recount their stories,” Kane said.
She met a year-round resident who told her how the tornado lasted for five minutes and that he had knee deep water in his back yard after it passed. When he looked out the window during the storm, “it was a complete whiteout, like a tidal wave,” he told her. He and his wife hunkered down in their bathroom because they couldn’t get to the bulkhead.
Kane found that people were eager for communication. “Every little bit of information people were relying on because (the tornado) was so immediate and the landscape changed.”
A contingency emergency plan for the town of Athol is in the process of being redone, according to Athol Fire Chief Joseph Guarnera. He said he recently sent a firefighter to be trained and certified to coordinate a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and that more information will be available in the near future.