STORM STRIKE RIPS ROOF OFF SHENANDOAH VALLEY FM

NEW MARKET, VIRGINIA.
July 27, 2009

Violent winds ripped the majority of the Shenandoah Valley Flea Market's roof off, sending debris far into surrounding properties on U.S. 11 late Saturday afternoon.

The strong storm passed through the area in a hurry, but not before it left its damaging mark insulation was strewn around the parking lot, on cars and on the side of the building; wood was lying everywhere; and cars had varying degrees of damage, from smashed windshields to flat tires. But the two employees inside the flea market, at 3549 Old Valley Pike, at the time of the incident felt lucky more than anything else afterward.

Clerk Wanda Good said she was going around locking doors around 4:50 p.m. when she heard a roaring noise that sounded like a train. Winds pulled the door she was trying to lock open.

"The roof was just peeling and peeling," Good said. "I yelled, 'Get down! Get down! It's a tornado!' It was so quick. It was unreal."

The luck part of it, though, can be viewed in a number of ways only about 10 people were inside because it was almost closing time, no one was injured, outdoor vendors had just closed up shop and left for the day and the storm did not happen Aug. 8, the day of the annual Route 11 Yard Crawl, which employees are most looking forward to.

"So lucky," Good said.

Manager Debbie Billhimer was the other employee in the flea market at the time.

"It was over fast," she said. "To think about it, we're really lucky nobody got hurt."

Paula Branner, who owns the flea market, arrived on scene shortly after 5 p.m.

For Branner, the damage reminded her of an incident in February 2008, when 100 feet of the back side of the roof were ripped off by high winds. This time, however, damage was much worse. Rain was involved and clean up was going to take much longer, she said.

For some at the scene, they were reminded of damage going even further back, to when a tornado touched down along Quicksburg Road several years ago.

Good said her fiancé mentioned that tornado to her. She was certain, at least during the ordeal, that a twister touched down Saturday.

"All I could see was sky," Good said. "I just screamed. I got down behind the register. Everything was falling from the roof. ... I thought we were gone."

Lt. Stan Pawloski of the New Market Volunteer Fire Department said the call went out at 4:56 p.m., and emergency services crews were on the scene in six minutes. Although no one was injured, Pawloski said there was a substantial amount of property damage and the building inspector was brought in to assess conditions.

Representatives from VDOT, Dominion Power and Shentel also were on the scene, Pawloski said.

Emergency personnel from New Market, Mt. Jackson and Shenandoah County responded, while New Market police helped traffic flow.