Cleanup continues as storm leaves Lawrence littered with debris

LAWRENCE, Ind. - Strong winds and heavy rain ripped through central Indiana last night, leaving many neighborhoods littered with debris.




Stephanie Reed wasn't present when the storm hit her home, but her sister-in-law was. Wind ripped a tree by its roots and took down a power line from the side of her house. That left her home the only one in the neighborhood without power.




"I came home and this is what I came to," said Reed.




She understands things like this happen, but feels frustrated that her power has still not been restored.

"To not have any power and still not have power because they haven't shown up yet is kind of frustrating," Reed said.




While the tree missed her house, it did take out her neighbor's brand new fence, and left her backyard tangled with power lines.




Without power, it's a race against the clock due to a fridge full of food and three dogs who are forced to stay inside.




"I mean, as long as we keep them away from the backyard and the powerlines," Reed said. "Until they get all these power lines and stuff dealt with, we'll just have to continue to walk them around the neighborhood."




Stephanie said the next step for her is waiting for AES to come restore her power, which she hopes happens before the heat comes this weekend. A mile down the road, another family was dealing with a bigger issue as a massive tree cut their home in half.

Chris Eley said he received a call from his wife and kids, saying their tree had hit their house.




"I was in Seattle when the storm hit," Eley said. "So I got on a flight and headed back. Got home this morning about 5 a.m."




His kids were watching the storm from their front window moments before the oldest tree in the area came crashing into their home. One wanted to go hide in the bathroom, while the other wanted to hide in the playroom. Fortunately, they chose the right hiding spot.




"So where they were watching, they were about 10 feet to the north of where it hit," Eley said. "My son was actually going to go in the playroom and our daughter was like, 'No, let's go to the bathroom.' It actually hit the playroom."




This isn't the first time the Eley family has had roof damage. A new roof was installed last spring, which has suffered damage three times in the last eight years. Thankfully, his family wasn't hurt, and they are now waiting for crews to remove the tree from his home.




"We're waiting on a crane. So they have to get a crane to pull it up out of the house," Eley said. "Fortunately, everyone is accounted for. All the dogs, the rabbit, and the cat, so we're all good. Even the fish."



via: https://fox59.com/news/cleanup-continues-as-storm-leaves-lawrence-littered-with-debris/