A category F1 tornado touched down in rural Culpeper County Sunday night, destroying most everything in its path. Families affected are still evaluating damage and trying to rebuild from the tragedy that befell their holiday weekend.
Eggbornsville Road
The tornado caused extensive damage along Eggsbornville Road in Rixeyville. (Photo/Ireland Hayes for Foothills Forum)
“We are blessed,” said Ted White, a homeowner on Eggbornsville Road in an area that received the brunt of the tornado’s damage.
White recalled in an interview Tuesday how quickly the tornado passed over, and by the time he and his family were making their way down to the basement, it was already gone, and his house did not receive any extreme damage. His nephew and his family, however, were not so lucky.
Remnants of the Johnson family’s home, which was destroyed by the tornado. (Photo/Ireland Hayes for Foothills Forum)
Next door, a family of five were awoken to their “tiny home” — a converted shed — being lifted off the ground and carried across the yard by extreme winds. William Johnson, 8, said that in the pitch black of the night, he felt the house lift off the ground and turn over in the air before settling several yards away. He sustained a black eye and a sprained ankle, but is back in good spirits and is glad he and his family were not injured seriously.
“This is the worst summer break I’ve ever had,” said Johnson, who just started summer vacation from elementary school.
The family has been in awe of the outpouring of support from their neighbors who jumped in to help clear the hundreds of feet of fallen trees and limbs that were scattered across the yard.
“When you treat people right, they come back and help,” White said.
Nancy Noakes looked out at the damage in her and her neighbors’ backyards, which were covered in children’s toys and debris. A tin roof laid across the lawn, feet away from the shed it once covered. A playhouse that used to stand in Noakes’ yard, toppled on top of yard toys in a heap.
Up the hill at Noakes’ daughter’s home, Francis Garrett, who is confined to an oxygen tank, stood on her son and daughter-in-law’s porch watching workers as they cleared fallen trees in the yard. Garrett said the tornado passed quickly, but left lots of damage in its path.
Power was restored Tuesday in the community, but many still don’t have internet access.
Francis Garrett stands on her son and daughter-in-law’s back porch, watching tree crews cut up downed trees and clear debris from the yard. Garrett said the tornado was frightening, and past by very quickly. (Photo/Ireland Hayes for Foothills Forum)
Settle School Road
Colleen Burket said when she awoke early Monday morning and looked out her bedroom window, she breathed a sigh of relief, seeing no damage and thinking she and her husband, Alan, and their farm were spared the damage of the storm. When she took a walk down their long driveway and saw miles of fallen power lines snaking across the drive, she realized otherwise.
On Tuesday, Alan was on his tractor clearing the remaining trees and debris from the mouth of the driveway. A majority of the tree scraps had already been cleared by a generous neighbor in Culpeper, who the couple said offered their tree services to them. Alan Burket said there has been an outpouring of support from the community.
“There’s still good in the world, and God is watching over us,” Alan Burket said.
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- A playhouse blown over and destroyed by the tornado. (Photo/Ireland Hayes for Foothills Forum)
