The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Throughout the week, the sounds of chainsaws droned through the Cherry Chase neighborhood as workers sawed off the tops of trees uprooted by last Monday's tornado. Several trees fell in front of the Congregational Community Church on Bernardo Avenue.

Rebuilding

Cherry Chase neighbors pull together after the storm

By Steve Enders

Two days after a bizarre tornado touched down in Sunnyvale's Cherry Chase neighborhood, the sky turned black again, and hard rain began to fall.

Tarps covering damaged homes and cars on Plymouth Drive shed water as best they could as neighbors talked on sidewalks, homeowners patched roofs and city workers looked for the last of the debris.

The West Coast's own "tornado alley" is getting back to normal as best it can after the face of the neighborhood was so remarkably changed.

It has tourists now, with cars full of people cruising slowly up and down the street, pointing and trying to get a glimpse of the remaining damage.

One man got out of his car and approached a group of homeowners last week and said, "I'm from out of town, but my daughter lives down on Bernardo near El Camino. I heard about this tornado and couldn't believe it! Not in California!"

Church Repairs: The Congregational Community Church begins the task of rebuilding.

Helping Hand: Local businesses pitch in to assist residents with the cleanup process.

But the initial shock has worn off for the residents, who had mostly moved indoors to pick up remaining debris.

Some of the homes--the ones most badly damaged by the storm--have apparently been left vacant. Their doors and windows are boarded up, balloons have been left on at least one doorstep and life there looks to be moving slowly.

"We call it 'The Wind' now. It's not a tornado anymore," said Bob Van Hoy, whose Plymouth Drive house sustained about $25,000 worth of damage. His two cars, roof, drywall, insulation and ceiling all need replacing or major repair. He assured his neighbors that his insurance was taking care of everything very well.

The block is also mysteriously absent of trees, with sawdust lying where their tall shadows used to be. As one woman said while passing by, "It's hard to tell what's missing. You don't even know."

Alonso Ramirez, a Sunnyvale arborist, was one of two city workers who on Wednesday were planting new trees in front of 1122 Plymouth Dr., one of the most badly damaged houses on the block.

"We're planting one where each one came down, and we'll replace all the ones that are leaning, too," Ramirez said.

Cleanup crews had all but finished mopping up the street and sidewalks. Window repairmen and cleanup specialists milled about, getting residents' lives back in order as best they could.

Pierre Roy, who owns Prestige Restoration, said his company was contracted by Allstate Insurance to help get at least one house into a livable state.

He said that most of the damage his crews have seen consisted of water and carpet damage and holes in roofs and ceilings.

According to Sunnyvale's community relations officer, David Vossbrink, the city's work in the neighborhood is done.

"That's pretty much it," he said. "The hard work for the residents now will begin."

Van Hoy and his neighbor Jackie Vinsant said that the city's response was "great" and that staff, various volunteers and local businesses came together very well to help get the block cleaned up quickly.

"There was intense activity everywhere," Vossbrink said of the hours immediately following the tornado. "We were there; it was really hoppin'. By the end of the day, most of the heavy work was done--people were helping each other, and volunteers were there."

He said that the city collected 635 cubic yards, or 80 large truckloads, of debris from people's homes, along with trees that had been piled up in the streets. Twelve trees on the Congregational Community Church property were removed, as were 25 others on Plymouth Drive. Those street trees will all be replaced, Vossbrink said.

The city contracts with emergency-response workers, he said, to assist neighbors with the kind of quick fixes that were needed immediately, including tarping and patching roofs.

But now begin the long-term repair jobs for the neighborhood. Fences need to be put back up, sheds will be rebuilt and roofs, windows and doors will be replaced.

Vossbrink recommended that homeowners exercise caution when rebuilding.

"Be heads-up, get references and written contracts--it's the same advice for any situation. Don't be vulnerable. Don't always take the first offer," Vossbrink said.

He also said that for many repairs, homeowners will need permits from the city to make sure any repairs are done in compliance with city code. The city will turn permit applications around "while you wait" or within a day in most cases, he said.

According to Vossbrink, it is still too early to put a monetary value on losses in the neighborhoods. Initial estimates from Sunnyvale's Public Safety Department came in at $1 million. Capt. Doug Lamar said Tuesday that he wouldn't be surprised to see it exceed $2 million.

Vossbrink said the city will "have a tally over the next few weeks," as people report their losses to insurance adjusters and to the city.

Kathy Bailey, public information officer for the coastal region of the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, said that a representative came to Sunnyvale to assess the damage after the tornado and found that the city's resources sufficiently handled the emergency.

She said that if the city needed help, the county, and then the state, would have been contacted and asked to provide further assistance.

Bailey also said that, so far, she thinks that homeowners' insurance policies will help the neighbors rebuild.

"It will depend on the homeowner's policy, but there are exclusions," she said. "Some just have fire coverage; others are more broad. For wind damage, that may well be covered; it just depends," Bailey said.

Les Hansen, a State Farm Insurance field executive, said that he has received some claims from neighborhood residents. "In terms of scope, it's still too early to tell what's going to be covered and what's not. We're responding to each claim."

He recommended that homeowners claim everything they think might be covered, "even if they're wondering if they should make a claim," and to do so immediately.

Those who have reported damage to their homes could also be eligible to receive discounts on property taxes, according to a representative of County Assessor Larry Stone. David Ginsborg, a senior management analyst, said that the homeowner must fill out a simple, one-page form to become eligible.

"Let's say the person lost a garage that cost $30,000 on a house valued at $300,000. They'd get a $300 reduction on their property taxes," Ginsborg said.

"Everyone recognized that it was a freak of nature," Vossbrink said of the tornado, "but everyone turned out [to help]. It's the sort of thing that you wish it didn't take a tornado to happen. But emergencies bring out the best in people. The folks on that block all know each other now, and that could be a real asset."

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, May 13, 1998.
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