Kansans clean up firework, storm debris after the 4th

BELVUE (KSNT) – Many northeast Kansas residents spent the day after the Fourth of July cleaning debris from severe storms as well as firework rubble.

The day after the Fourth of July is usually spent resting from the holiday, but for people in the small town of Belvue, that was not the case. They spent their Wednesday cleaning up after a storm that brought damaging winds. The storm rolled in around 11 p.m. Tuesday night, sending 80 mph winds whipping through the small town. Streets and yards were littered with debris from the storm. 

“Looked outside and the trees were blowing sideways, and my flag was blowing sideways, and I thought I was going to lose a good bit off the side of the house,” homeowner Stephen Cope said. “And I saw branches coming out of the trees across the street.”

Bridget Linnebeur, another Belvue resident, said the storm was so loud, her youngest son thought there was a monster in their home. 

“One of the sycamore branches fell out of the three and it hit the roof and then it hit the window,” Linnebeur said. “It bent the frame. Thankfully it didn’t break the window, but it did pop all of the cupboard doors open on the inside.”  

Now that the “monster” is gone, Linnebeur and her neighbors are working to get the broken branches out of the way too. 

“Just getting stuff cleaned up,” she said. “And we’ll probably have to call somebody to get the one. It’s not laying on the powerline, but it’s over the powerline, so we’ll have to get somebody out here to get that.” 

Much like the limbs at Linnebeur’s house, other fallen branches around town were so large, they required an extra set of helping hands. 

“It fell in the alley and was blocking the alley here, so the city clerk came by and kind of cut it out,” Cope said. “It took about three or four truckloads to get it out of here, so it was a pretty good-sized branch.”