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Mountain Top Tornado: 10 Years Later

WRIGHT TOWNSHIP — In the Mountain Top area of Luzerne County, things look a lot different than they did 10 years ago on this day when a  tornado suddenly ...

WRIGHT TOWNSHIP -- In the Mountain Top area of Luzerne County, things look a lot different than they did 10 years ago on this day when a  tornado suddenly ripped through the area.

"The best way I could explain it, it was really crazy, like what you seen in the movie 'Twister' years ago. It was almost like that. Wow!" recalled Wright Township Vol. Firefighter John Yager.

The damage from the tornado in 2006 was the worst thing Yager had seen as a volunteer firefighter for Wright Township.

He worked for weeks to help clean up the damage left to many homes and businesses in the area. Even Crestwood Junior/Senior High School had part of its roof ripped off.

"There was a lot of property damage, but luckily there wasn't any people hurt," Yager said.

Many remember being so surprised, not just by the damage left behind, but by the fact that a tornado would even hit this area.

"My dad always told me we don't get them here because of the mountains. The mountains protect us or something like that. But apparently, that is not true," said Bob Munson of Mountain Top.

In his more than 60 years of living in Mountain Top, Munson never thought he'd know the fear of watching a tornado pass by his home. Neither did the Breens.

"We had our two grandkids, and we took them down to the basement. We stayed there until we could here that whatever it was had passed," said Marguerite Breen of Wright Township.

Marguerite and Bill Breen's home was spared by the tornado. They had no significant damage but vividly remember going around after and seeing all of the destruction.

More than a million dollars worth of damage was left by that tornado 10 years ago.

"We took a ride around and then you see the damage. You see that house up here that got hit and you see all the trees as you were on South Main. You see all the trees ripped up," said Bill Breen.

Everyone remembers the day vividly, and everyone we spoke to said they hope something like that doesn't happen again.

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