SCRANTON -- One year ago on Sunday, a rare February tornado tore through parts on Luzerne and Lackawanna counties.
Even a year later, the tornado's path can still be seen at Lake Scranton.
David Yazinski of Dickson City walks the Lake Scranton trail religiously. So religiously, that he was there when a tornado rolled through on February 25th, 2017.
"[It] got really windy all of a sudden, and you couldn`t see it coming because there used to be trees here. You know, all of a sudden trees were falling down all around me," Yazinski said.
The tornado downed dozens of trees along the trail. Yazinski luckily wasn't hurt.
"It went by really fast, I mean, I was about at the half mile marker just up ahead when it came through. It didn`t last long, just 30 seconds or so and it was gone," he added.
The trail, which is managed by Pennsylvania American Water, was off-limits for several months in 2017 as crews worked to clear away all the debris.
To this day - the tornado's path is still clear.
"It just looks so different, I mean, it`s so wide open. It used to be all closed in," Yazinski said.
About a mile of the trail is still closed off to the public, but not because of the tornado damage anymore. It`s closed because of a multi-million dollar project on the Lake Scranton dam.
The tornado also damaged Pennsylvania American Water's treatment facility near Nesbitt Dam in Spring Brook Township. The place ran on generator power for a week.
Regrowth will take years. But, David Yasinski won't be holding his breath waiting for another February tornado.
"What are the odds of another tornado coming through here? We don`t get many around here. That`s such a rarity, I don`t think that will happen again!" he said.