Tornado Leaves Trail Of Devastation Across Hugo
Tragedy Affects Hundreds
By Deb Barnes
HUGO - As temperatures reached the 80s for the first time this year, a deadly late-afternoon Memorial Day weekend tornado ran a devastating course across Hugo and left at least one child dead and 20 individuals missing late Sunday afternoon.
PHOTO BY DEB BARNES
Minutes after the emergency warning sirens were heard across Hugo, reports of injuries began coming in to the Washington County Sheriff's Office Communication Center from the Creekview Preserve and Water's Edge areas, located to the north and west of downtown Hugo close to the city's northernmost water tower.
Two-year-old Nathaniel Prindle was killed after the tornado struck the family home. His father, Gerard Prindle, was reported in stable condition at Regions Hospital in St. Paul on Monday afternoon; Christy Prindle, the boy's mother, was treated and released from Regions Hospital. A four-year-old sister is listed in stable condition at Children's Hospital after being revived en route to St. John's Hospital in Maplewood.
Mayor Fran Miron reported that 17 persons were treated at hospitals, and 32 individuals were treated at Oneka Elementary School in Hugo for minor injuries by Red Cross personnel. "We extend our prayers and thoughts to families who suffered loss of life and property," he said.
As of late Sunday night, most missing persons were accounted for. City Administrator Mike Ericson said that a number of residents had been out of town for the Memorial Day weekend.
PHOTO BY DEB BARNES
That was the case for the neighbors who live across the street from the Bower family. The Bowers were huddled in their basement with their two children and escaped injury - although their house sustained major damage. Their neighbors, away for the weekend, lost their entire house, wiped away by the tornado in a matter of seconds.
"Those houses are gone, those houses are gone," sobbed one woman after she emerged from her basement. "Oh, my God."
When the Hugo Fire Department reached the entrance to the development, law enforcement officers had cordoned off 159th Street North to all but emergency personnel.
Lines of ambulances were beginning to form along the street, but wreckage scattered across 159th Street prevented many vehicles from getting much farther than a block or two to the west until heavy equipment arrived to clear the roadways.
Entire houses were gone from their foundations. In some blocks, stretching west to Frog Hollow Park and beyond, there were few homes that escaped unscathed - satellite dishes on intact rooftops were eerily juxtaposed against the empty spaces a block away where whole houses used to be.
Hugo resident Debi Burmeister reports that she and her husband saw the tornado approach their home, which is located just south of 165th Street and east of Elmcrest Avenue. "It skipped over the top of our house and touched down in the pasture behind us," she said. "It was huge, about 200 feet wide. We could see the debris in it, and the winds were changing direction. We could see it heading toward the Creekview neighborhood."
Hugo Public Works Director Chris Petree, whose house was completely lifted from its foundation as he, his wife and young daughter huddled behind their water heater in the basement, was seen riding alongside a front-end loader from the Lino Lakes Public Works department, giving directions.
"All you hear is glass breaking and wood tearing and breaking in half," Petree said later, recalling the experience.
Ambulances and emergency equipment from Hugo, Forest Lake, White Bear Lake, North Memorial Medical Center, Mahtomedi, and as far north as Chisago City were seen.
The Red Cross set up a Service Center at Oneka Elementary School where residents could seek medical attention and shelter and meet with chaplains from local churches. Many residents were bused there from their homes after the neighborhood was evacuated because of concerns about leaking natural gas.
Lyubov Kebernik stood on 159th Street with tears running down her face, watching the emergency equipment go by. She expressed her relief that all ten of their children were safe. "A 2x4 came through my siding," she said. "That's all."
Sara Bailey, a resident of Water's Edge, wasn't so fortunate. Her house was completely gone, blown stick by stick into the wetland behind the empty house pad. Bailey stood on her driveway with her dog, Amos, and said, "It could be so much worse. We're both fine."
Primary Disaster Assessments were released by the Red Cross late Monday afternoon. Twenty-seven homes were destroyed (total collapse); 16 homes suffered major damage (large portions of the roof or walls missing); 75 homes sustained minor structural damage; and 397 homes were affected, with missing shingles, damaged siding, and debris. This number includes 311 townhome units.
Greg Granger, whose mother resides in Twin Pines Mobile Home Park in Hugo, reported that the mobile homes escaped major devastation but sustained siding damage and broken windows, while cars were dented by hail and falling debris.
Eyewitness accounts said that damage to the National Recycling, Inc. building at 15717 Forest Blvd. on the east side of Hwy. 61 was substantial. Lake Area Bank's temporary facility lost its sign along Hwy. 8.
The extent of the damage to rural areas of Hugo was not immediately known, as trees were down across major thoroughfares; however, Mayor Fran Miron reported that a number of residents of eastern Hugo sustained damage to their homes. Some lost barns, sheds, and fencing and livestock. Power poles along Homestead Avenue were snapped off.
Power lines were also down along Oneka Lake Boulevard to the east of downtown, where volunteers were seen cutting and hauling large sections of trees from the roadway early Sunday evening.
Hugo Council Member Chuck Haas said that his property was covered with small chunks of pink insulation, blown miles to the east from Creekview Preserve.
Mayor Mary Capra of Centerville reported on Monday that Centerville was more affected by the hailstorm that followed the tornado. "There were a lot of houses that were damaged," she said, "but not leveled like Hugo." Centerville received over 4 inches of hail; piles of which remained the next day. "The Rehbein silos east of 20th Avenue are flattened," she said, "and the barn is gone."
Hugo Mayor Fran Miron called an emergency meeting of the Hugo City Council on Monday morning at Oneka Elementary. Along with Senator Ray Vandeveer and Rep. Matt Dean, U.S. Senator Norm Coleman attended the meeting after touring the disaster site, which was being actively patrolled by Washington County deputies.
"We spend all of this time on training and planning," he told The Citizen, "and it really makes a difference."
Residents who attended the council's emergency meeting were anxious to be let back into their homes. Miron explained that five teams of emergency personnel with rescue dogs were making a third search for possible victims, concentrating mainly on 40 homes whose residents had not yet checked in with the Red Cross.
"We are very, very concerned about security," he said. "The only way we can guarantee that, is to make sure the area is secure so what you have left is protected against theft and vandalism."
The council passed a resolution declaring a state of emergency in the City of Hugo. [For the full text, go to www.ReadTheCitizen.com.]
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who visited the site, issued a statement which said, "I will do all I can to ensure that the full array of federal aid and resources is available to the families, businesses, farms, and communities affected."
During the morning, Red Cross personnel were actively involved in canvassing neighborhoods for the purpose of disaster assessment, and in credentialing residents for entry to their property. Those residents, many of whom were away for the weekend when disaster struck, were allowed back in for a limited time period on Monday afternoon to retrieve valuables from homes judged safe for entry.
"All homes will be off-limits overnight [Monday]," Miron said.
For red-tagged homes, deemed unsafe for entry, Hugo Fire Chief Jim Compton said that HFD personnel would assist residents with the retrieval of family pets left inside.
Tentative plans indicated that portions of the disaster site would be opened to families, beginning the next morning.
Governor Pawlenty arrived at the Hugo Fire Hall by helicopter at noon to be apprised of the situation and to discuss disaster relief. He was joined by U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, who pledged to work together with Sen. Coleman on behalf of area residents. "We'll work together on this," she said.
At the time this newspaper went to press, however, it was not clear whether the affected area qualified for federal disaster funds, as - according to Miron - requirements are very stringent. "Six million dollars in uninsured damage to public infrastructure is required to qualify," Miron said.
On Monday, Highway 61 through the downtown area continued to be closed to all but emergency personnel and utility companies, who were working to restore power and telephone to thousands.
Residents were directed to the Hugo Public Works facility at 6900 - 137th Street N. for generators and tarps. Meanwhile, offers of help poured in from all over the metro area from businesses and individuals.
Mayor Miron expressed his gratitude for the community's generosity, adding that two of Hugo's firefighters and the city's public works director all lost their homes, but continue to work "without a word of their own losses."
"We were fortunate that it was a holiday weekend, and that it was during daylight hours," Miron added. "If it had struck at night, when families were sleeping, it would have been much worse in terms of loss of life."
For our regular features that may have not made it into this issue because of our special tornado coverage, please go to www.ReadTheCitizen.com online when our May 28 issue is posted on Wednesday. Additional photographs and story updates will be posted as they are available.