Power Expected To Be Restored Soon As Storm Cleanup Continues In Freehold
FREEHOLD, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- It is a tangled mess of downed wires and tree limbs in the Monmouth County town of Freehold.
On one street alone, three massive trees were completely uprooted. Utility crews worked overtime to restore electricity to thousands after severe storms broadsided the area Saturday night.
Officials hoped to have power fully restored by midnight.
After two trees came crashing down and ripped a hole in their home, Kelly Temple, her partner Alexis Tuzzolo and their two dogs huddled in the doorway shaking.
"Your mother always says stand in the doorway if you're in a bad tornado," Temple told CBS 2's Christine Sloan. "And we did and honestly that is the only thing that saved our lives."
Then they tried to get out.
"That's when we saw the hole in the kitchen. The whole skylight crashed in and that's where the rain was pouring in," Tuzzolo said.
"We were pinned and trapped in the house -- we couldn't get out the back door. We couldn't get out the front door," Temple said.
As they heard a transformer blow up on their street, they called neighbors for help.
"I ran to my shed and I got some tree clippers and we just started clipping away just to get them and the dogs out," Karen Deitzer said.
Not only are Temple and her partner dealing with a demolished house their jeep is totaled too.
"At that point you don't care about the house. Obviously the car is crushed. You just want to be okay," Tuzzolo said.
Across the street, another tree trapped Bill Morris his baby, dog and wife inside. Morris was upstairs with the dog when the tree came crashing down.
But there was no escaping the nightmare on the corner of Oak and Fulton, as a freak storm moved in Saturday night. Forecasters believe a supercell storm packing wind gusts as high as 65 mph pounded Freehold and Freehold Township.
1010 WINS' Steve Sandberg reports
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It's the second punch Freehold has gotten from Mother Nature. Just a few weeks ago, a couple survived a tree crushing their car.
In addition to taking down power lines, fallen trees also are blocking many roads. Freehold's mayor imposed a dusk to dawn curfew.
"I'm in Freehold 30 years and I never saw anything like that," said resident Hortense Clarke. "It's terrible."
WCBS 880's Sean Adams reports
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"On a scale of one to ten, this is probably almost a ten," another resident said. "Houses are a wreck. There are just trees and debris everywhere."
The storms damaged several tents and the grounds at the Monmouth County Fair in Freehold Township, forcing officials to cancel the fair's final day of events on Sunday.
Despite the intensity of the storm, no one was hurt.
(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
