Storm tears through area
PROSPECT — At least 10 homes in the Coral Ridge Estates trailer park were damaged Monday afternoon by high winds and falling trees during a severe thunderstorm.
No one was reported injured, though high winds caused countless tree branches to come down around 3 p.m., Prospect Fire Chief Ken Wilson said.
Some of the park, which has 53 lots and about 200 residents, lost electricity and several roads were blocked by downed limbs.
Some residents reported hearing a trainlike noise as the storm came through the area.
Becky Gitzen said she was driving home when the storm hit.
“That's a noise you'll never forget,” she said. “It was worse than a freight train.”
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Rhonda Ankrom, another Coral Estates resident, said she waited out the storm in her trailer, though she considered heading to the Prospect Volunteer Fire Department station, which is a designated emergency shelter.
“The rain came down so heavy. I couldn't see anything. It just blew and blew,” she said.
Wilson and five other volunteer firefighters were joined by residents of the park in a cleanup effort Monday afternoon after the rain stopped.
They used chain saws, a Bobcat vehicle which belongs to the landlord and pickup trucks to clear away fallen branches.
One trailer hit by a tree is owned by Alexis Fedokovitz and her family. Though the trailer seemed to have limited damage and the occupants were unharmed, two Jeeps and a Dodge pickup truck suffered damage from a falling limb.Zach Fedokovitz was inside the trailer when the tree fell. He said he felt the trailer shake.“I just heard a crack and it fell,” he said.The trailer and vehicles will be covered by insurance, Alexis Fedokovitz said.Seeing the residents of the park spring into action to help clean up downed branches was no surprise, Fedokovitz said.“We all pretty much help each other out. We're all here if anyone needs anything,” she said.Coral Ridge owner Donald Mikesell said it was the worst storm he has seen hit the property in the past 30 years.“It could have been a hell of a lot worse,” he said. “Trailers and cars they're all repairable. People you can't repair.”The fire department and other volunteers who pitched in got the blocked roads back open in a timely manner, Mikesell said.“They did an excellent job,” he said.
