BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. – A community is rallying together to pick up the pieces after a tornado ripped through Bedford County early Friday morning.
While no one was killed in its wake, the twister with wind gusts of 135 miles per hour brought miles of destruction to a Forest neighborhood.
Cleaning up wasn’t the way neighbors planned to spend their holiday weekend, but it’s looking like it’s how they will be spending the next several.
“I was in the bed and the cats took off running first and I knew something was wrong,” Patricia Spruce said. “It sounded like a train coming through the house.”
Spruce has lived in her home for 20 years and she says she’s never been so afraid. The tree in her yard came within two feet of crashing into her bedroom.
“I was just hoping I could get out in time,” she said. “I knew it was going to hit the house.”
When the storm passed, the first thing she did was check up on her neighbors. When she learned everyone was going to be okay, they got to work.
“Thank you to all the people who are willing to come out and support,” said Janet Blankenship, chief with Bedford County Department of Fire & Rescue. “It really shows you that people do come together during a time of tragedy.”
Rescue crews are out here each day checking on neighbors. The power is back on for most and a lot of folks are waiting on insurance companies.
“To come back today and see the miraculous recovery of all the efforts that have been poured into this area, it’s changed a lot,” Blankenship added.
“It changed the whole landscape, but you know, change is good,” Spruce said. “Maybe just not this much at one time.”
Spruce is still finding things, like her flag which once flew proudly on her back porch. It’s now out front, in the middle of all the devastation, serving as a reminder of how the community came together and will continue to until the job is done.
“People pour together in a time like this,” Spruce said. “We are not divided.”