Published: 07:18 AM, Sun Apr 17, 2011

By Greg Barnes
Staff writer

One person died and at least 85 were injured in Cumberland County when a tornado ripped through a wide swath of Fayetteville on Saturday afternoon.

Three others were killed in Bladen County and one in Dunn, the victims of either tornadoes or strong winds spawned by a storm system that left destruction across eastern and central North Carolina. It was the same violent system that had raced across the Midwest and South, leaving 17 dead in four other states.

In Cumberland County, the damage spanned about eight to 10 miles, from North Reilly Road to north Ramsey Street. In some places, entire neighborhoods were wiped out. The city and Cumberland County declared states of emergency. A curfew was imposed in damaged neighborhoods from 9 p.m. Saturday until 6 a.m. today.

"Citizens are advised to stay out of the affected areas," said Kenny Currie, director of county Emergency Services. The LaGrange and Summerhill subdivisions off North Reilly Road and the Cottonade neighborhood off Yadkin Road were especially hard hit, as were the College Lakes area off Ramsey Street and Broadwater Bridge Road in Beaver Dam.

"We're going to be in response mode most of the night," Curry said Saturday. "Hopefully, tomorrow, we'll start with the recovery issue. People don't need to show up volunteering ... so as to not hinder EMS, fire, police and sheriff's operations."

The fast-moving tornado, which touched down about 4 p.m., peeled roofs off businesses along Yadkin Road, between Summerhill Road to near the gates of Fort Bragg. It sheared trees in half or ripped them out of the ground in Cottonade, destroying or badly damaging at least half of the houses.

Shortly after the tornado struck, people wandered aimlessly along Yadkin Road, stepping over downed power lines and smashed transformers. A silver van came to rest on a tree, suspended about 10 feet off the ground. A semi-trailer sat on its side, a tree lying across it.

Michael Ray started clearing out what was left of his Performance Tattoo shop at 6380 Yadkin Road. He said about 15 customers and employees were inside when the roof blew off.

"I'm just glad I didn't see anybody go with it," said Ray, who is 38. Most of the customers and employees huddled inside a storage area, the only interior wall left standing.

Nearby, Young Choe sifted through what was left of the business he runs, One Hour Koretizing Dry Cleaning and Laundry. Choe is certain that his son saved his life. He said he was standing at the counter with his son when they saw the twister coming toward them.

"My kid pulled me down," Choe said. "If he hadn't, I'm sure I would have been dead, or in heaven right now."

Choe suffered a cut on his head and a scrape and bump on his shoulder. His shop was destroyed.

The scene wasn't much different on North Reilly Road. When the tornado struck, about 12 people had huddled in a small bathroom inside the Reilly Road Farmer's Market.

The group included Breanna Beatty; her boyfriend, Jonathan Pate; and Pate's children, 4-year-old Jonathan and 2-year-old Savannah.

"We each had a kid up under our shirts," Beatty said. "The roof over the bathroom came off, and something hit everyone."

Beatty said an unidentified woman who stood next to them was nine months pregnant. She was not hurt, Beatty said, but she was taken to a hospital as a precaution.

The True Life Ministries Worship Center on North Reilly Road was destroyed, a brick wall was all that remained.

Trimita Kirk and her daughter were inside the building, along with several other people, when the tornado hit. Kirk said at least one person was injured when a wall fell.

"It was just really scary," she said. "Like the scariest thing you would ever think of."

Sally Shutt, a spokeswoman for Cumberland County, said 10 people were transported by rescue workers to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, and 20 others made it to the hospital on their own. Five others were taken to Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital in Dunn, and 50 were treated in the field for minor injuries, Shutt said.

She said the death in Cumberland County happened on Vault Field Road in Linden. The victim's name and details of what happened were withheld.

The county opened three emergency shelters - at Spring Lake Middle School, Seventy-First High School and the Westover Recreation Center. The American Red Cross went to badly damaged neighborhoods directing people to the shelters.

FAST buses were used to help get displaced families to the shelters.

Two schools, Ben Martin Elementary on North Reilly Road and Pine Forest High on Andrews Road, were damaged.

Cumberland County schools Superintendent Frank Till arrived at Ben Martin around 6 p.m.

"We'll be working on this one tomorrow," Till said. "We're kind of like everybody else. We're just waiting to see what's up."

Significant damage also was reported along Andrews and McArthur roads in northern Fayetteville and off Ramsey Street near the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plant. Areas in and around Pine Forest High School received heavy damage, said a police spokesman.

The tornado destroyed a wall at Goodyear and flipped over an 18-wheel tractor-trailer, said company officials and a union leader. One person had a minor injury that required first aid. The plant is not expected to operate a normal schedule until 7 p.m. today.

The tornado ripped through the Longhill Pointe Apartments and Townhomes, off Ramsey Street north of Andrews Road, peeling back roofs and damaging vehicles. A tree fell over an entrance to the complex, forcing people to walk with whatever belongings they could carry to friends and loved ones who waited for them in cars.

James Shepherd, who is 26, said he watched the tornado approach from the window of his second-floor balcony at Longhill Pointe.

"I saw it come through, the trees getting demolished," Shepherd said. "Definitely the craziest thing I have ever seen."

He said a wall of his apartment was blown apart, and shards of glass stuck in the walls, as if someone "had thrown them there like knives."

Pine Forest High School off Andrews Road fared no better. About 300 people were at the school for an N.C. Force Basketball tournament when the tornado hit.

Nicole Smith and her family were inside the school when it began to pour, the wind picked up and the view outside the windows turned white, she said.

Smith saw one person get injured. Cars in the parking flipped over; the windows of the Smiths' Ford Excursion were gone.

"It's definitely a sight to see down there," she said, pointing toward Pine Forest's athletic fields, which received extensive damage.

Jackie Tuckey, a spokeswoman for the city of Fayetteville, said the city has asked for public safety and utilities personnel from as far away as Charlotte.

Cumberland County activated its Emergency Operations Center and asked for help from the state for rescue, EMS, and search and rescue teams.

City parks and sanitation crews have responded to clean debris and get roadways clear for emergency management crews in the LaGrange, Summerhill and Fairfield Farms neighborhoods.

Fort Bragg will remain closed today to all but essential personnel, Army officials said.

Multiple buildings on post and Simmons Army Airfield were damaged. Power was cut off to the entire installation, a statement released late Saturday said. "There are no reports of loss of life or significant injuries on post," the statement said.

Womack Army Medical Center was operating on backup power sufficient to support its medical operations.

Army officials said power was not expected to be restored to Fort Bragg until at least noon today.

The storm also caused heavy damage in Raleigh and elsewhere in the eastern part of the state. A Lowe's store and other buildings were destroyed in Sanford.

The storm system knocked out power to almost almost 200,000 people in the Carolinas.

Progress Energy reported Saturday evening that it was working to restore power to more than 175,000 customers, while Duke Energy had another 16,000 without power as of 8 p.m. Both companies have customers in the Carolinas.

South River EMC reported about 25,000 members had no electricity Saturday night, down from 35,000 earlier in the day. The company provides power in Cumberland, Sampson, Harnett, Bladen and Johnston counties.

In Bladen County, two people died and one was injured when a tornado touched down in Ammons, said Bradley Kinlaw, director of the county's Emergency Management Office. Another person died when a tornado hit Bladenboro, he said.

Others across the region said they were lucky to get through the fast-moving storm unscathed.

Aaron Samora 29, and Claudia Huerta, 28, sat on their porch at 413 Lancaster Road, off Yadkin Road. In front of them, a towering pine tree had broken in half, its top crashing through the side of their brick home while the couple huddled in a closet.

"A few more feet the other way would have been bad," Samora said.

The destruction brought out the best in some people.

Jamie Slife and his family were driving down Yadkin Road when the tornado ripped across the street in front of them.

Instead of panicking, Slife, a Marine stationed at Fort Bragg, jumped out of the car and started helping everybody else.

Within minutes, Slife had joined forces with soldiers who also were helping.

"We pulled seven people from cars," Slife said.

The makeshift unit also checked on people in damaged homes and worked with firefighters and police officers to help secure the area.

"We don't know each other," Slife said, gesturing toward the group. "They're just letting me talk because I have higher rank, I guess."

In the Summerhill neighborhood, residents quickly mobilized to help one another and clear the neighborhood streets so residents and emergency vehicles could get through.

The group of mostly active-duty or retired soldiers brought out chain saws to cut the trees. A man in a tow truck used his winch to pull limbs and trunks out of the way. Some tied smaller limbs to the backs of their Jeeps and trucks and dragged them off.

Staff Sgt. Larry Ruiz used to live in the neighborhood. He grabbed his medical kit and stethoscope and went door to door to offer help.

In Cottonade, paratrooper Teygh Statler used a chain saw to cut a big tree that had fallen on Julie Nelson's house on York Road. Statler was joined by other soldiers and volunteers.

"We've just been kind of driving and helping wherever we can," said Erin Adams, whose husband Steve manned a chain saw in the front yard. "We just hope somebody would do the same for us."

Staff writers Jennifer Calhoun, Steve DeVane, Paul Woolverton, April Dudash, Nancy McCleary and Michael Futch contributed to this story.

Staff writer Greg Barnes can be reached at barnesg@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3525.

NOTE: The Webmistress' old neighborhood was one of these affected by the damage.  By all available reports, "our people" there are all unharmed, but probably still without power as many of them have been since Saturday at 4:00 PM; have not yet reached    Geneva Cole Lauterbach ('65) of Fayetteville or   Ann Allen ('65) of - uh, someplace very nearby.