Denair tornado damage estimated at nearly half a million dollars

The damage caused by a tornado that ripped through Denair on Sunday is estimated at nearly $500,000, officials said Wednesday.

About three-quarters of the 21 homes that were either touched by the tornado or damaged by high winds and flying debris need smaller repairs like shingle work or window replacement, but others might require structural reconstruction.

The National Weather Service classified the tornado an EF1 on a scale of EF0 to EF5, with wind speeds of 86 to 111 mph.

Stanislaus County sheriff’s Sgt. Anthony Bejaran said the damage estimate could increase or decrease over the next few weeks as further assessments are done.

Two homes – one closest to where the tornado first touched down and the other, three miles east at the end of its path – remain uninhabitable.

On Wednesday, a giant eucalyptus tree still leaned against the century-old, two-story home on Zeering Road west of Santa Fe Avenue.

On the east end of Zeering, Zane Woodard talked to his insurance adjuster behind a chain-link fence, erected to prevent people from looting. His normally quiet country road at the east edge of town all week has been traveled by the curious and the eager.

Some people drive by slowly to look at the damage – the barn collapsed, the detached garage reduced to rubble – others wanted to take his barn wood for salvage.

“I don’t understand people like that … who want to take what you have left,” Woodard said.

But there have also been people who come over to help. One neighbor, Gene Shrabel, was at the property with a chain saw Wednesday cutting up a downed walnut tree.

Shrabel helped free Woodard and his wife from their home after the tornado when their detached garage was lifted into the air and landed in pieces, blocking their front door.

“We were digging from the inside, and he was digging from the outside,” Woodard said.

During the tornado, the Woodards took cover under a bed as their windows shattered and furniture, including a television, flew by within feet of them. The roof of the garage was carried to the other side of their house and cut a palm tree in half.

Woodard said he must wait a few more days for a structural engineer to determine the extent of the damage to the home. He and his wife have been staying at a hotel but will soon get a trailer to stay on the property while the home is rebuilt.

Back in town, cleanup and reconstruction were well underway.

Workers were pulling damaged shingles off Lighthouse Baptist Church. Services will be held there this Sunday but an adjoining building, where ceiling tiles fell and holes were torn in the roof, might need asbestos abatement before it can be occupied again.

A large tree still covered benches and part of a swing set at Senior Center Park. But David Odom, utility maintenance supervisor for the Denair Community Services District, said he got bids Wednesday to have it removed. He estimated the park will reopen next week.

Limbs, branches and other vegetation that on Monday was strewn across yards were in neat piles along the road on Wednesday.

Denair Fire Chief Daniel Schroeder went door to door to tell residents affected by the tornado they can use one of three large dumpsters to dispose of the waste free of charge. Turlock Scavenger, which provides trash service to the town, donated the bins that hold between 8 and 10 tons. The company will dump and replace the bins until everything torn apart by the tornado is hauled away.

This story was originally published November 18, 2015 at 7:21 PM with the headline "Denair tornado damage estimated at nearly half a million dollars."