WINTERSET, Iowa — Clean up efforts are still underway in Winterset after an EF-4 tornado hit Saturday night, killing six. More than 600 volunteers have stepped up since then to help those hit hardest.
Despite snow in the forecast, there’s no slowing down their determination to lend a helping hand. Coordinated through Madison County Emergency Management Services, volunteers can show up at the county fair grounds between 8:30 and 9 a.m. to be assigned to a spot. School buses are being used to coordinate who goes where.
Volunteer Taylor Benshoff has lived in Winterset her whole life. She says it’s natural for the community to come together like this.
“When tragedy hits Winterset we all come together,” Benshoff said. "I just wanted to be able to lend a hand someway, somehow."
She helped clear debris from the Sullivan family’s front yard Wednesday. The family’s house was spared by the tornado. Despite some structural damage, it’s still standing. Frances Sullivan says he and his wife were moved to tears when they saw how many people showed up to help them.
“We're emotional. It’s overwhelming the people helping, and we can't do it ourselves. That's for sure,” Sullivan said.
Volunteers haven’t stopped since Saturday, except for a break Monday due to snow causing safety concerns.
Emergency management director Diogenes Ayala saying it’s a matter of making sure volunteers are safe.
“The roads around here, it’s a lot of rural roads so they get muddy. We can’t have a lot of traffic going up there or heavy equipment that could possibly slip," Ayala said. "Then we’re back to having an emergency we have to send crews up for."
The potential of snow is adding a new sense of urgency to an already-intense clean up effort.
“The problem is you can’t see what’s under you," Ayala said. "So, if we have people go out there grabbing for what they believe is a little item, it might be a piece of metal that cuts their hand."
The emergency management team will make a call before start time Thursday morning on whether conditions are safe for volunteers.
“I'm hoping that we get nothing. But even if it's a small dusting, I'll make the determination if it's safe enough to go out there. And then if we are in a safe enough condition, we'll continue our operations," Ayala said.
Ayala says the team will be working through the weekend, and they’ll continue to take volunteers for as long as people are willing.
“People have to go back to work. They have other duties they have to do,” Ayala said. “So our volunteer numbers are dwindling. But we’re also getting a lot of stuff done because of the efforts of the volunteers that are here.”
For the volunteers, it’s a matter of helping out as often as they can for as long as they can. Ben Applegate put in some hours at the Sullivan family house as well, saying snow won’t stop people from helping out.
“Tornadoes one day, snow the next, and I think everybody will just kind of keep going and push through it all to help everybody. We’ll just keep going until it’s finished, and it may take months,” Applegate said.
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