It seemed almost no tree was safe in Marshalltown from a massive wind storm that hit in the early morning hours of July 11, 2011.
And some places weren't safe from the trees.
Such was the case at the Marshalltown home of Amanda and Brian Freiberg on First Street. An unwelcome visitor one year ago - in the form of a giant, backyard oak tree - damaged the roof and exterior of their home.
Article Photos
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The Freiberg home in Marshalltown sustained significant damage from an oak tree as a result of the wind storm one year ago.
The couple was home with their two young children when the weather radio alerted them to the warning. They went down to the basement and huddled together in a brick shower when they heard a loud rumbling noise. When the storm left, they went upstairs and found the oak tree in their back yard was significantly damaged.
"It was on the patio, it was on the house, it was on the yard, it was everywhere," Amanda Freiberg said of the tree. "That was the first time I've ever experienced anything that bad."
The Freiberg home has since been repaired with a new roof, thanks to insurance. Amanda said the memory of that destructive morning and lessons learned have continued on.
"You definitely take storm warnings a little more seriously," she said.
Winds gusted to more than 100 miles an hour during the storm, which knocked out power to more than 20,000 area residents. Thousands went without power for several days as crews repaired downed power lines.
Kim Elder, coordinator of Marshall County Emergency Management, said she has two salient memories from the storm - that she was thankful there were no major injuries or deaths and just how widespread the damage was throughout the area.
Elder also said more people have realized how important it is to have a working weather radio, especially when a storm hits in the middle of the night.
"People really do need them," Elder said.
One year later, the debris the city cleaned up for area residents is still around.
"We're still working on getting rid of all that material we accumulated from the storm," Lynn Couch, city engineer, said.
The limbs and debris have been ground up but still wait to be transported for use by a bedding company. Couch estimated 65,000 cubic yards of debris was collected by city crews following the storm.
"We spent the better part of July and a good part of August getting the debris cleared up off the terrace (of residences)," Couch said. "We pretty much did no road maintenance work that summer."
Couch said the city escaped a great deal of damage to city property aside from downed trees. The most structural damage to city property occurred at the airport and at the Marshalltown Family Aquatic Center.
Marshall County Engineer Paul Geilenfeldt said the county is in the same boat as the city - the debris has been chipped but has not been transported out of the county.
"For the most part we are back to situation normal from that storm," Geilenfeldt said.