Just two weeks after an EF3 tornado ripped through Rustic Ranches in Wellington, WPTV’s Wellington reporter, Michael Hoffman, walked the wreckage with the first crew of first responders to get boots on the ground.
The clean-up process continues, just two weeks after those terrible twisters.
“Out first obstacle was power lines over the entire road,” said firefighter paramedic John Hartman, “which made entry very tricky. FPL had to shut down the whole grid.”
WATCH: Palm Beach County Fire Rescue respond to tornado
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue respond to tornado in Rustic Ranches.
“I remember coming down Southern Boulevard and looking in the side mirror and see a tornado cross Southern behind us, as we were heading westbound,” recalled Hartman. “I was thinking, are there going to be more? But that’s part of our job sometimes. Forego our own safety to help the others in the community.”
Lt. Andrew Lombardo and Hartman have more than three decades of experience between them, and still they said the will never forget that day.