Heavy Rain, Hail Damage Being Cleaned Up

Thursday’s thunderstorms left behind some serious damage on the High Desert. From gardens to buildings, many people were cleaning up Friday morning.

Though thunderstorms were in the forecast, many people in Bend said they didn’t expect such an intense storm so quickly.

Heavy rain and dime size hail came down hard and fast, causing flooding in the streets, among other things in Bend. This was bad timing for some, like the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Oregon in downtown Bend. Club officials said roof workers left the roof uncovered Thursday.

Friday morning, the sound of fans filled the building as crews worked to extract water that fell through the roof and down all three floors of the building.

“So the building is having its roof replaced, and it just so happens that here came an unexpected storm ad we were caught without a roof,” said Lisa Burbidge, executive director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Oregon.

“We want to get up and running as quickly as we can, because we know so many families rely on Boys and Girls Clubs and need us because they need some place for their kids to go, especially if they’re working,” said Burbidge.

The storm hit the hardest on the west side of Bend, and damaged many plants like those at Galveston Gardens Nursery. Owner Giovanna Cloward says when she heard the hail outside, she ran out to cover what she could, but didn’t expect it to be as strong as it was.

“But then I got hit on the head with the hail, and it hurt so I went back inside the house and said, ‘Forget the flowers!'” said Cloward. “I’m not going to cover it!”

“The water and hail kind of beat them (the flowers) up,” said Cloward. “You can see all these baskets — see, really they’re not supposed to look like that, they’re supposed to look all open and bright and colorful.”

“I think we can come around, because it’s not as damaged as I thought,” said Cloward. So I think the plants are going come around.”

Officials with the Boys and Girls Club say they expect programs to be back up and running again by Monday, though the building itself will probably stay closed.