Severe storm hits Fruitland, residents, officials working to pick up the pieces

FRUITLAND, Md. – Downed power lines, debris everywhere and massive trees, snapped in half are just some of the things Cathy Grim witnessed during Saturday’s thunderstorm.

The Fruitland resident described the scary moment she realized things were going left.

“All of a sudden, one of our sons-in-law said, ‘Everybody, in the house! Get to the bathroom!’ because that’s the inside room. So, we all tried to get in the bathroom, and it was like 12 of us here, so we were kind of scrunched in,” Grim said.

WMDT’s Weather Team tracked severe storms. Grim said the storm came and went within minutes, and when the coast was clear, her family cleared their makeshift shelter.

“And then we looked out back, we saw this great big tree uprooted, and Jessie’s fence, our next-door neighbor, his whole fence is busted up, and it all happened in 1 minute or less, it was just unbelievable,” Grim said.

Crews were on site since the early morning hours, working to clear the streets and restore power.
UtiliQuest crewmember, Phillip Shand, said he’s never witnessed a scene so destructed before.

“I was amazed that nature does this,” Shand said. “You know, you see it on tv, but to actually be on site and view it is different, very different.”

But because of mother nature’s doing, Shand said the quick restoration effort is crucial, because those disturbed power lines pose a threat to the public.

“They’re live; the lines are still live, so if anybody walked next to them, you’re liable to get electrocuted,” Shand said. “That’s why the crew is out here heavily securing the area.”