BATTLE GROUND — Sheron Alvarez was in her bedroom late Thursday morning, seeking respite from already frightening weather.
“There was lots of thunder and it was loud, and then all of a sudden, the hail was terrible,” Alvarez said.
Then Alvarez was overwhelmed by sheer noise. The weather was on top of her.
A tornado ripped through the city of about 18,000 at about 11:15 a.m. Thursday, leaving trees torn from the ground, fences and debris scattered, and reports of 36 homes damaged. Alvarez’s home on Southwest First Avenue, along with her neighbors, were among them.
“I heard my roof ripping off,” she said. “I knew that was not good.”
Alvarez and her family hurried outside to see the damage, which much to her surprise, was minimal. Shingles were torn from the roof. A door was broken. Parts of their fence had fallen, and a heavy igloo-style doghouse had been tossed several houses down — but all in all, the Alvarez’s home was relatively unscathed.
“God is so good,” Alvarez said. “He protected us. I’m thankful for that.”
Her neighbors were less lucky. Across the street, two trees had fallen into a home. A third tree lay across the home of Alvarez’s next-door neighbors, whom she said were on their way to Disneyland when the tornado struck. Nearby, a chunk of a fence was lodged high in a tree.
Nearby Southwest Parkway Avenue was littered with dozens of fallen trees. Crews from Battle Ground Public Works hurried to remove the debris and clear the roadway.
The full extent of the damage is still to be measured. But it was clear from a tour of Battle Ground that the tornado had touched many homes and families.
Colynn Cain was in her home at the end of Northeast 14th Court, off Main Street, when the tornado swept by, taking a few shingles and knocking a tree into her front yard. An uprooted tree apparently pierced a pipe in her neighbor’s yard, filling the cul-de-sac with the odor of gas.
“I was wondering what the heck was going on,” Cain said.
Neighbors took a harder hit. A massive tree fell across two yards, landing on the roof of a home.
Residents, neighbors and utility workers were out along Southeast Rasmussen Boulevard after the wind died down, taking stock of the damage and cleaning up.
Echo Moran lives in the area. She said she first heard the wind and hail buffeting her house.
“The clouds were just moving so fast,” she said. “I’ve never seen clouds move that fast. I looked up, because I saw my neighbors pointing up, and there was just debris circling in the sky, just flying around.”
Her parents live nearby, and the wind knocked down part of their fence.
Moran said her parents looked out the window during the storm to see a 30-foot trampoline flying at the house, so they ducked behind the refrigerator.
“It was crazy,” she said. Luckily, the trampoline missed the house.
Outside of his home, Zach Gates and others were picking up the pieces of the fence shortly after the storm. He said he was in his room when he heard the wind picking up.
He opened the blinds and saw his greenhouse and fence tumbling down Southeast Rasmussen Boulevard.
“It was just total chaos. There was stuff hitting the house, and honestly, I was freaking out a lot,” he said.
