PORTLAND, Mich. -- Entire neighborhoods were damaged by Monday's EF-1 tornado in Portland. Some homeowners lost their garages, while others had no choice but to leave their homes.
Scott and Carrie Maynard said they were both at work when the brief tornado hit their home. However, their two children and a babysitter were in the basement of the house.
By Monday night, they were removing what they could from the damaged house.
The Maynards said that the neighbors and family nearby raced to the home to make sure the children were safe.
"He came in because his wife said they knew there were kids next door, so they came over," said Scott. "Couldn't find them, called 911, and then they found out they were across the street with my dad."
The roof was torn off the home. The city instructed them to put a tarp over the roof before sundown, they said.
The family took out what they could before the sun went down, though they had help from neighbors, friends, and family.
"Yes, so we definitely can't get over he amount of support, so that's wonderful," said Carrie. "My wedding dress is up there so, that's the only thing I really want out of there."
Being able to recover their most prized possessions, including Carrie’s wedding dress, the Maynards are thankful their family was able to make it out okay.
"Nothing breaks my heart that I've seen, and we have a lot of stuff we wanted to clean out anyway so, now this is the incentive to clean it out," Carrie said.
