'I ran inside, grabbed my kid, and ran downstairs'
BARNSTEAD, N.H. - Some described the green sky that is often spoken of in tandem with tornadoes. Others said it was just dark, that all they could see was rain and that they heard the roar of the wind with a whistle that hinted there was something more sinister about this storm.
"I've never seen anything like it, myself," said John Simpson of Georgetown Drive in Barnstead. "I was standing outside when I saw it come through. I ran inside, grabbed my kid, and ran downstairs."
Residents from throughout central New Hampshire emerged from their basements yesterday and found their neighborhood in ruins. If their house was not damaged by downed trees and utility poles, their neighbor's was.
A Deerfield resident, Brenda J. Stevens, 57, died when the house she was in collapsed. Twelve others in the area were injured.
Simpson, whose home was spared damage but was surrounded by branches, traveled the neighborhood along Locke Lake and found houses smashed by treetops that broke so clean from the force of the wind they looked as if they had been cut by a chain saw. A tree went through the roof of one home.
From Epsom to Northwood to Alton, it was much of the same. Tornado-like winds cut utility poles in two.
Power lines were scattered along state highways. Some trailer homes were overturned, and others were crushed.
Residents had to move trees to get down the street, and in some cases, to enter their homes. Kyle Goyette, 18, of Richie Street in Deerfield helped a friend cut down a tree in the driveway.
Authorities set up shelters in Alton and Epsom for families who were displaced because of water or power loss.
Holly Forsgren of Northwood took advantage of the shelter at Epson Central School to ensure the safety of her two daughters and because she depends on a medical device that requires electricity.
When the storm hit, Forsgren was at home with her daughters and thought it was just another storm, "but then it got real intense," she said.
"There was a feeling right before whatever it was that touched down in the field - you could almost feel it on your skin - and then it went quiet," she said. "And then some sort of cloud touched down and went right back up, like it was skipping rope.
"It's like it jumped our house," she said. "It's a miracle we're OK."
