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Jul 19, 2008 10:49 pm US/Central
Tornado Touchdown Near Becker And Big Lake, Minn.
(WCCO)
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Katherine Green sent this photo of the storm in Big Lake, Minn.
Katherine Green
Some people living near the cities of Big Lake and Becker are recovering after storms damaged their homes and farms.
"I'm just stunned, just stunned. It's not what we had planned for the weekend," said Geri Naulty.
The National Weather Service said a tornado touched down near Becker at 2:05 Saturday afternoon and near Big Lake at 2:25.
"I could hear that train (sound) they talk about. Hearing that train, the noise. It was awesome," said Matt Anderson.
Anderson said he heard the storm coming almost before he saw it. When he finally got a good look, he immediately got on the phone to warn his neighbors living north of Big Lake.
"We were starting to see tornadoes, just little ones. Small, long, in the cloud system form and then just dissipate within 10-20 seconds," said Anderson.
Anderson's home was spared, but just a mile away his neighbors were not so lucky. A shed that used to be on the east of side of Geri Naulty's parents' home was moved to the west side, tearing it apart it in the process.
"The shed was ripped apart and flipped over the house. The house was impaled by a tree and it's going to be a lot of cleanup," said Naulty.
Cleanup was something a lot of people living northwest of Big Lake could look forward to. Joyce Lambert's house was spared, but just feet away powerful winds took down an ash tree and embedded it in the ground. Her family's barn was damaged. Some of their animals, including a pet deer, were injured in the storm.
A couple miles away Randy Garding said he thinks he lost about 30 percent of the trees on his property, and next week he'll be shopping for a new trampoline after it was thrown across his lawn.
Garding's neighbor Chuck Reichert is putting his cleanup on hold. He has roof damage and a tree on his car, but he also has tickets to Neil Diamond. Since everyone is okay, he thought he might as well go.
"We're going, we got (to have) a blast," cheered Reichert.
The Sherburne County Sheriff's Office said no injuries have been reported. Power lines are down in some parts of the county, but overall damage to homes and farms is considered light for the most part.
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