Reply #8: Here is an article about it, quite a trip, ey? [View All]

[evolvenow]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/03/21/MNGPVBSH2P1.DTL


South San Francisco got a taste of Dorothy's Kansas on Sunday when what authorities called a "probable tornado" whirled through town, ripping off roofs, pulling down power lines and breaking windows and then flinging the debris for blocks.

Firefighters who responded to dozens of calls from frantic residents during the rare twister at 3:40 p.m. said it was amazing that no one was injured.

"The floor began to shake and then all the people outside began to run indoors, yelling 'tornado,' " said Jorge Lozano, 20, who was working in the Ayar Produce store near downtown. "Then everything was blowing around in the store, pinatas, all of the stuff on the shelves. The windows blew out, and everyone was screaming. There was glass all over."

At least 40 buildings -- 20 homes and 20 businesses, including a fire station under construction -- were damaged as the swirling winds ran a wild 3-mile path across the city, from Westborough to the San Francisco Bay. The twister also uprooted towering trees, caused gas leaks and knocked out power to about 1,500 residents.

South San Francisco Fire Chief Philip White said that one home had to be evacuated because of extensive damage. Throughout the city, residents were stepping around snapped power lines and cleaning up pieces of roofs from houses blocks away. Traffic lights, some twisted, were out at many intersections. "I've been with the South San Francisco Fire Department for 22 years and I've never seen anything like this," White said.
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