TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Clean-up efforts are underway in Oro Valley after a monsoon storm hit which left some homeowners saying this is the worst storm damage they have ever seen.
“I never thought in a million years something like this would happen. We always joke there’s no natural disasters in Tucson, but if my window is getting blown out, that’s kind of crazy,” said Oro Valley resident, Colby Quist.
Colby Quist has lived in the Tucson area his entire life and said he has never seen anything like this before. A large window in his living room shattered as a result of the storm. He also had items moved in his backyard, including a large grill.
Quist hired a restoration company to help with the damages to his home.
“They’re checking for water damage, they’re taking off the baseboards… that’s a big window, so the A/C, I'm worried about that, because that’s going to be running all day,” said Quist. “I think it’s 80 degrees here.”
Derrick Cushing, who is a lead carpenter with the restoration company, Disaster Restoration Innovation, said Thursday was busy for them because of the storm.
“There's two or three trees that are currently resting on homes right now, so there are a few different crews that are out there to take care of the damage. And more water damage and glass,” said Cushing.
Gary Brown and his grandson Tristan started their morning at 6 a.m. doing any cleanup they could do themselves after several trees fell at their house.
“We’re working out here getting all we can cleaned up and then we’ll let the big boys come and get the big stuff shortly,” said Brown.
Brown echoed what Quist said, and said he too had never seen anything like this before.
“It was a pretty good storm. I've been here five years next month, and this is the most powerful one I've seen,” said Brown.
While these storms were something the homeowners had never seen before, Cushing says they always expect the worst during the monsoon.
“Monsoon season is by far the craziest time. It’s one of those times they say to expect to work crazy hours, because the monsoon is unpredictable,” said Cushing.
