YORK, Pa. — Heavy rain and winds swept through York early Friday afternoon, causing trees and power lines to topple throughout the area. Even though the storm was brief, the damage caused by the weather stunned residents like Nick Jenkins.
Jenkins says he was taking his lunch break out in Bantz Park. He says the storm swept through the area just as he was returning to work.
"So, I went inside the building, walked up to the cafeteria, and I heard something go 'crack,'" explained Jenkins. "And I came back outside, and all of the trees were everywhere in literally five seconds. It took five seconds for that to happen."
The winds also affected drivers, when a tree was blown over onto North Penn Street from the Roosevelt Tavern parking lot.
"I was sitting in the office doing paperwork, and one of my neighbors called and said, ‘Your tree just fell out onto Penn Street,'" said Byron Kehr, owner of Roosevelt Tavern.
Kehr says York City Public Works pushed the tree off to the sidewalk but delayed the removal of the tree due to a backlog of calls.
"They said they had 10 other trees that were down, and one park had 10 trees with the tops fallen off," said Kehr. "They had bare wires down, so they basically were just getting this so they can get the road opened up."
With Public Works taking care of other emergencies, Kehr relied on his neighbors to help clear the debris.
"We have a great neighbor and great customer named Wild Bill. He ran over to Lowes and got a $300 chainsaw," said Kehr. "And then the gentleman, who owns the warehouse where they’re putting in apartments, they have a skid loader and offered to push everything back to get the parking lot open for me. We have a lot of great neighbors that helped out today."