On May 27, a violent EF4 tornado hit Harrison Twp. after displacing hundreds in Trotwood and Brookville.
>> Dayton Tornadoes: Walking the Path of the Storm
Allison Saldivar recalled the loud bangs she heard as the twister plowed through the area.
“We could hear the pipes shaking against one another, water being sucked through those pipes,” she said. “And just the biggest bangs all over.”
Those bangs outside Saldivar’s home were the sounds of the tornado ripping apart hundreds of trees.
“I just remember thinking, ‘All the trees are gone,’” she said.
And just six months later, the trees are still gone. Her once secluded home above the Stillwater River is no longer shielded from Shoup Mill Road.
As Harrison Twp. residents work to rebuild their homes and lives, one thing is apparent: there’s no such thing as a quick fix.
With so many homes damaged, there’s a contractor backlog.
“We still need to fix our garage,” said Brienne Enscoe. “We have windows still shattered that we’re working on fixing.”
And beyond those repairs, Enscoe said tree service has been her family’s biggest issue.
>> Harrison Twp. parks, Dixie strip, may never look the same after tornado
“You can’t see if from here, but we have this huge tree that we need to get out, and I have no idea how to do that,” she said.
But with so many having insurance problems, she considers her family lucky.
“They’ve been very helpful with us,” Enscoe said. “They came right out, got our vehicles fixed; gave us the money we needed to work.”
Her neighborhood near Loretta and Swallow drives was one of Harrison Twp.’s hardest-hit residential areas, with 48 homes having major damage.
Four homes in the area are on a list of 30 Harrison Twp. home deemed dangerous.
When our teams walked the storm's path, they were scheduled to be torn down.
In total, 371 Harrison Twp. properties were significantly damaged or completely destroyed.
Businesses are still in a state of disarray.
Sinclair Park may not open again until 2020 or 2021. Most of the park’s 415 trees — documented to be more than 200 years old — were destroyed.
But our team also saw a major Harrison Twp. comeback story.
Evans Arena car dealership, which had $9 million in storm damage, will reopen Dec. 5. Thanks to an insurance policy, the owner was able to pay employees for the last six months.
>> PHOTOS: Walking the path of the tornado — recovery costly in Harrison Twp.
In the storm’s aftermath, many are still deciding whether they will stay and rebuild or move and start over.
“My family’s here. This is where I grew up,” said Enscoe. “My children grew up here. I would never leave Dayton.”
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