HARD HIT
Two twisters tear through Burke
By Anne Marie Kyzer annemariek@thetruecitizen.com

Staff - Bonnie K. Taylor Ron Morris walks away from a flattened garage and storage building that once stood behind his great-aunt Tippie Usher's house in Greens Cut.

Milton Scott barely had time to dive from his recliner before a tornado ripped through his living room Saturday evening.

Almost immediately the wind shattered the front door, firing shards of glass from the storm door through the house and overturning furni- ture. The back screen door was torn from the hinges, then the blast of wind left as quickly as it had come.

The twister was the first of two that tore through Burke County that night.

"I just kneeled down and prayed," Scott said, remembering that his wife was en route from Jefferson County at the time.

He would later find her safe and sound on Highway 305, blocked from the most severely damaged areas by trees blown across the roadway.

Like the rest of Burke County's storm victims, the Scotts are now left picking up the pieces and salvaging what they can from the wreckage.

Four days after the storm, they continue to sweep leaves, dirt and debris from every room in their house and mend the mangled fence that corralled more than 400 head of brood cows on their 1,300 acre farm. The tornado damaged 75 percent of his fencing, but he said that, amazingly, he did not lose any cows. However, his pecan orchard of more than 800 trees was whittled down to 40.

This National Weather Service map illustrates the paths of two tornados that caused destruction in Burke County.

Scott, looking for a ray of hope, forced a chuckle. "I wanted to get rid of those pecan trees anyway," he said.

Jim Kilmer of the National Weather Service confirmed the two EF1 category tornados, which churn with wind gusts of up to 110 miles per hour.

The first developed in Wrens and moved into Burke County near Keysville. Just before it crossed the county line, it disintegrated Charles Wright's mobile home on Keys Grove Road while he and his wife were inside. Though Mrs. Wright escaped unharmed, Mr. Wright, a Burke County Road Department employee, remains in critical condition at MCG Health.

Applewood Golf Course was "renovated by nature," according to owner Chuck Baer. The funnel ripped out 317 trees and two walls of the golf cart storage building. The tornado also lifted up the front porch of the clubhouse and sucked out its supports while around 50 people, including small children, huddled inside. The back nine holes were reopened Monday, and the rest should be open by Friday. Contributed - David Royal

The tornado went on to topple trees and buildings along Farmers Bridge Road and in the Winter Road area before skipping over to Story Mill Road. Second Hopeful Baptist Church was destroyed. The roof collapsed and members later found the front porch in some nearby woods. A few miles away, more than 300 trees at Applewood Golf Course were ripped up at the roots, and the clubhouse and cart shed sustained heavy damage.

The second twister formed near Waynesboro and traveled just north of Sardis. In the eastern portion of the county, many reported that golf ball-sized hail caused the most destruction, breaking windshields and ripping through the siding on homes.

Contributed Contractor Jimmy Johnson's workshop on Story Mill Road was destroyed after an uprooted tree dropped through the roof.

Burke County EMA Chief Rusty Sanders said his agency received more than 100 calls in one hour after the storm hit. The EMA, along with the Burke County Sheriff's Office and the Burke County Road Department, worked through the night sifting through the wreckage.

According to Chief Sanders' preliminary report, some 111 mobile homes and houses were damaged. Eight of those were demolished. Of the 84 mobile homes affected, 56 were uninsured, as were six of the damaged houses.

Grain bins, silos, barns and shops were also destroyed, affecting farmers and other small business owners.

Nearly 30 roads, including state highways 305, 23 and 88, were closed because of debris.

According to Chief Sanders, preliminary assessments showed damage scattered througout about a third of the county.

Botsford Baptist Church looked like it had been sprayed with buckshot after golf ball-sized hail punched through its vinyl siding and air-conditioning unit. Staff - Bonnie K. Taylor Cleanup began immediately on Boyceland Dairy Farm off Winter Road. Seven barns were leveled and the Civil War era farmhouse was pulled apart at the seams. Staff - Bonnie K. Taylor