Recovery begins in Naperville neighborhood ravaged by tornado

Tree limbs and branches, broken fencing, pieces of siding and debris were piled high along the curbs Tuesday in a Naperville subdivision ravaged by a tornado two days earlier.

Bright blue tarps covered damaged roofs. Shattered windows were boarded up. Orange markings on garage doors indicated if a house had been cleared out and deemed uninhabitable.

Repairs and cleanup efforts were well underway along Ranchview Drive and adjacent residential streets, which were bustling with contractors, surveyors, first responders and volunteers.

Community organizations and disaster relief crews handed out food, water and supplies. Neighbors helped one another put up temporary fencing and haul tree limbs to the curb.

Naperville fire crews have been on hand at all times to escort residents back into their damaged homes if they don't feel safe entering alone, said John Sergeant, division chief of emergency medical services. Overnight, police were stationed at every corner, and light trucks illuminated the houses that had been torn apart and exposed to provide extra security.

With walls and roofs ripped from the frames of some homes, many residents have "already suffered enough," Sergeant said. "They don't need to get robbed."

Fire crews had responded immediately to the Sunday night storm but didn't have a handle on the scope of the damage until the sun came up the next morning, he said.

"The sheer magnitude of the incident doesn't really hit you until after," Sergeant said.