PENDLETON — The cleanup effort continues three days after an EF-2 tornado bulldozed its way through Pendleton.
Neighborhoods are trying to put the pieces back together.
The EF-2 tornado that ripped through Pendleton knocked down street lamps, actually snapped off trees like they were twigs, and at this point, there needs to be a lot of clean up. But with that comes a lot of dangers.
"It actually torqued and fell into that garage, that garage, our house, and this garage," Mike Madl, who was impacted by tornado damage, said.
Branches have piled up in the back of Madl's house after a massive 90-foot tree went crashing down during the tornado.
"I was actually in that window and when the tornado came over, and I saw the tree come down, and luckily it didn't come through the building, so," Madl said.
As debris builds along the streets, the Centers for Disease Control references to an Illinois tornado where 50 percent of injuries happened after the storm. First responders say dangers are lurking during storm damage clean up.
"Those can be from down power lines; those can be from bio-hazards, the things that get thrown around in a tornado," Cpt. Michael Pruitt, with Wayne Township Fire Department, said. "It can be hazardous materials; there's nails, there's sharp edges."
It's essential to make sure you're protected when you're using heavy equipment and chainsaws.
"If we go out and start rummaging around and try to start working in this environment and we haven't prepared ahead with the proper boots, gloves, and safety glasses to wear when we're doing this, we're going to end up getting injured," Cpt. Pruitt said. "Then it just prolongs our misery beyond the disaster itself."
From the damage to your home, car and even backyard, Madl says clean up is not a quick process.
"Just be patient, take your time, it's only stuff," Madl said. "I mean we were happy everyone was okay."
Getting things back to normal as soon as possible, but doing it safely.
Cpt. Pruitt says to make sure to have a safety kit in your home and having a week's worth of water and non-perishable foods, as well.
