THREE RIVERS, Mich. — Bracing for rain and what could be more severe weather, many residents in Three Rivers spent Tuesday preparing, while still cleaning up from a tornado that tore through the community days earlier.
Among the dozens of homes and businesses damaged, family-owned Huddlestun Lumber Company on South Main Street sustained a loss of property expected to be in the millions.
Employees working that day told News Channel 3 that they narrowly avoided being injured by taking shelter inside of a safe just moments before a tornado tore through their property
Ken Owen, the company’s vice president of sales, said three employees and one customer were inside the building when they heard on the TV that the storm was headed straight for downtown Three Rivers, where they were.
“We were watching the weather report. They could see the storm coming,” Owen said. “They said there was a tornado of strong possibility and it was heading directly towards downtown Three Rivers.”
Owen said one of the employees looked out toward the lumber yard and initially thought they were seeing birds circling in the air.
“(He) actually said that he thought there were birds flying around in a circle,” Owen said. “And I said, ‘I don’t think that’s birds. That’s debris.’”
That was when the group climbed inside the large safe for protection.
“There was room for us, and the customer was a little reluctant to get in there with us,” Owen said. “But he got in there and the tornado hit.”
While inside, Owen said they could hear glass shattering and a loud crash on the roof.
“There was just a lot of noise. It seemed like it was a lot longer than it probably was,” he said.
When they emerged, the destruction outside was extensive.
Built in 1938, Huddlestun Lumber Company had 10 structures on the property.
Owen said four of them were destroyed and the remaining buildings still need to be examined by an engineer.
“There’s a possibility that we lost 70%” Owen said.
The damage is expected to cost several million dollars. Most of the loss comes from the destroyed buildings themselves, but also from inventory that could not be salvaged.
Even so, the response from the community has been overwhelming and unexpected.
“The community has been fantastic, especially our customer base,” Owen said. “They all offered help… equipment, their employees.”
One retired builder and his wife even offered to come sweep floors if it would help, according to Owen.
Cleanup has been moving quickly. Contractors have been hauling away debris in large dumpsters and working to clear the site.
Workers have been moving remaining materials underneath cover in preparation for more rain, according to Owen.
“Our crew outside and our employees did a great job of moving everything as best they could out of the weather,” he said. “So, we’re in pretty good shape.”
The family that owns the lumber yard is discussing how to move forward.
“The owner put it well. He even addressed all the employees and said he had three choices: he could take the money, and walk away… Two, we could rebuild here, or three, we could rebuild elsewhere,” Owen said. “And we’re fairly certain we’re going to rebuild here.”
Closing permanently is not being considered. Instead, the company is weighing whether to rebuild on the current site or relocate elsewhere, but is leaning toward staying where they are at on S Main St., where they have been part of the Three Rivers community for 88 years.
Contractors hope to have the majority of the debris cleared from the property within the next few days, though a full rebuilding timeline has not yet been determined.
