Wadena, Minn., continues to rebuild one year after deadly twisters

By: Wadena Pioneer Journal and Forum staff reports ,

WADENA, Minn. – It’s been one year Friday since two EF4 tornadoes ripped through the small town of Wadena, leaving behind a widespread trail of destruction still evident.

Lives were interrupted, property destroyed and scattered, and families displaced by the massive twisters. It was the kind of event that will always be stenciled into the minds of the thousands who experienced it.

Even as emergency crews were struggling to handle the situation, people were wondering how to handle the nuts-and-bolts challenge of getting on with their lives and occupations.

A lot of progress has been made since that day, but the amount of work that still needs to be done is enormous.

More than 250 tree stumps and tens of thousands of trees in shelterbelts, windbreaks and pastures must be cleared.

People are needed to help rebuild homes, remove debris, paint homes, level and seed yards, install windows, repair and replace roofs, straighten barns, pour cement, mend fences, repair farm equipment and run skid steers.

An influx of volunteers will hit the area this summer to swell the ranks of the many that have been at work since last summer. A big effort has been planned for the east Otter Tail County village of Almora, where the first of the two twisters touched down and the storm’s single fatality occurred.

Remembering the day

It was a humid day – June 17, 2010 – in Wadena, ripe for a tornado. That became especially clear as the day closed in on the 5 o’clock hour.

Residents took one look at the green-tinged sky and knew a storm was brewing above, but no one could have expected just how hefty it would be.

As it turns out, there were actually two tornadoes that struck the area that day: one tracked along east Otter Tail County, and a second hit squarely in the city of Wadena – both deemed EF4 tornadoes, which is nearly as strong as they come.

Gregory Gust of the National Weather Service in Grand Forks said having two strong tornadoes back to back is unique. In the Tuscaloosa event this past April 27, a string of tornadoes occurred one after another in the same storm system, but that was not the case with the twin tornadoes last June 17.

Top Online Sales of Skid Steer Attachments

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Skid steer attachments have a variety of shapes, sizes, and functions. In fact, there are a few hundred different skid steer attachments available on the market. But there are three skid steer loader attachments that are often the best sellers for most skid loader attachment dealers. Any dealers who also sell skid steer loader attachments online also have their top sellers.

The most popular of the skid steer loader attachments is by far the forks, or pallet forks. They allow your skid steer loader to function as a forklift. They are great for moving pallets, which landscapers love, because they receive sod deliveries on large pallets. Roofing shingles and drywall can also be removed from delivery trucks and moved to their proper location with pallet forks, which the contractors appreciate. Rather than hand carry rolls of sod, drywall, and shingles, with pallet fork skid steer loader attachments, the contractors can just drive the pallet to its proper location.

Pallet fork skid steer loader attachments can also be used to pull stumps out of the ground, move heavy logs and large rocks, and collect and lift brush, which makes it a fair replacement for a grapple. They are even used for digging trenches. Contractors will remove one of the pallet fork skid steer loader attachments, and drag the other one along the ground. This will dig a quick and easy trench for laying plumbing pipework or electrical wires and cables.

Many outdoor businesses, like lumber mills and storage facilities, will use pallet forks and a skid steer loader for moving items around the storage yard. Sometimes, the skid steer loader can be used indoors in a pinch, as long as the warehouse is well-ventilated. But because it is a diesel or gasoline powered engine, it cannot be used inside for very long because of the danger of fumes.

The second most popular of the skid steer loader attachments is the general grapple or brush grapple. This attachment is like having a hand at the end of your skid steer loader. It is used for pulling out brush and tree roots, which saves a lot of digging and straining. It can delimb trees, pick up firewood, or cart construction debris to the dumpster. It can also be used with a rotating attachment, sometimes called a Tilt Tach, and can pick up fence posts or telephone and rotate them to place them into their hole.

The grapple is often used for anything that cannot be balanced or held on the pallet forks. While it is not advisable for using it to move live trees — the tree could slip and become damaged in the grapple’s grip — it is great for moving anything else that would normally be moved by hand, by pallet forks, or by a bucket and thumb attachment.

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