FREMONT, NE. — Strong winds and heavy rain swept through central Fremont on Wednesday night, toppling trees, flooding streets and knocking out power for hundreds of residents.
Neighbors spent Thursday cleaning up debris — from large trees that stretched sidewalk to sidewalk to smaller yard cleanup jobs.
"It amazed me when I got up this morning and looked. You couldn't tell anything was there beside the roof," said Jamie McConnell, a Fremont neighbor who had a tree fall in her front yard said.
The storm left a strong impression on those who rode it out.
"It was like a hurricane," Carole Darling, a Fremont neighbor said. "The trees were like whoosh."
Darling said her home received significant rainfall during the storm.
"We got two and three quarters at our house, ..." Darling said. "It floods our street, so it was probably ten, twelve inches deep," Darling said.
Fremont neighbor Sheila Armenta has a small pond stocked with fish in her backyard. She said the storm's rain raised flooding concerns for her pond.
"My pond was very very full, ..." Armenta said. "I was waiting for my fish to jump out because I got some jumpers."
Power went out for 250 residents, according to the City of Fremont. City crews replaced power poles at D and 12th streets,
As of Thursday afternoon, all power has been restored.
Despite the cleanup ahead, some neighbors found moments of levity.
Armenta babysits a seven year old named Rain, was used clippers for the first time to help clear debris.
"She's doing good, first time using clippers," Armenta said.
For Darling, getting her yard back in order was a point of pride.
"My yard is my pride," Darling said. "It's a lot of clean up, but at the end of the day my yard looks good again."
