July 21, 2010

Wicked storm

The storm that slammed Bristol really did a number on the town.
There are trees and limbs down all over the place, including one that clobbered the sign for the Congregational Church on Federal Hill and another that splintered the outfield fence at Muzzy Field.
It looked like Rockwell Park got the worst of it.
To Theresa Jarry, it looked like "a war zone" with all the trees shattered.
The basketball court got two different limbs crashing through parts of its fence. Two trees beside Muzzy Field buried someone's pickup truck. And dozens of trees were tossed hither and yon.
"I'm very surprised with all the trees down," said Christa Finn, who lives beside Muzzy Feld. She said that during the storm she could see wind and rain spinning outside.
Brendan Finn woke up from a nap after hearing a loud crack outside. He peered out the window to see "rain spinning" like a whirlwind.
Martin Finn was coming over Rattlesnake Mountain on Route 6 when the storm hit. He said he saw a big power line come down, arcing electricity in a spectacular show.
He said it took him an hour to find a route home because "every road was cut off" by all the fallen trees and power lines.
Morgan Finn said she was rehearsing at the Congregational Church for the Get Up Stage Company's summer production of "Rent" when the storm hit.
Someone called to warn of a tornado watch, she said, but the company kept on singing.
Then the storm hit, with lights flickering "like something out of a horror movie."
A tree fell outside, she said, and everyone screamed.
Power went out in many places, including the library and City Hall, where the Park Board meeting got KO'd by the storm.
Park employees trying to clean up said they'd rarely seen such a mess.
Police said there were tons of trees down but they didn't think anyone got hurt.

Note: The picture at the top was taken by Angela Ziogas, who kindly gave me permission to post it here.
*******
Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

No comments: