Tornado clean up continues in Durham
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- The sound of a power saw echoed through many streets off of Hope Valley Road on Saturday morning, days after an EF-1 twister damaged trees and homes there.
Some, like Kevin Maxwell, concentrated on clearing debris. Part of a tree crushed a shed where he stores the family bikes, but the tree missed his house.
"Just have to replace some tires, it looks like," Maxwell said. "No wheels got bent. We'll assess that once we manage to get them out."
A short drive away, Frank Boll assessed the damage on his property.
"Trees are beautiful," Boll said. "Except when they fall down on the house!"
Boll was inside watching television when the tornado struck, and says if he had not moved out of the way "I would have been killed!"
"It landed right where I was sitting," Boll said. "If I didn't adhere to what everybody says about the train coming in!"
He heard that sound, hustled to his basement-level garage, and stayed there with his car. When the winds died down, he went back upstairs.
"I walked in the living room and I saw what happened," Boll said. "That's when it hit me. Somebody upstairs likes me, let me tell ya!"
He's staying in a hotel room provided by the Red Cross.
"His insurance will come up with an estimate," said Kelly Kirton, a rebuilder. "We'll get a scope of work together and rebuild the house."
Boll enjoyed the house for decades, but he says now he might prefer living away from trees.
