A 2x4 board if pierced through the hood of a Jeep at the Temple farm near just outside of Lairdsville. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

LAIRDSVILLE – The sound of chainsaws echoed in this community seven miles east of Hughesville as late Thursday afternoon a violent wind ripped off barn and house roofs, toppling trees onto wires leaving debris scattered and pieces of metal on tree branches 50 feet in the air.

In what could be described as an outpouring of community unity and support, neighbors, family and friends helped each other Friday to clean up as power was being restored by utility crews lined up along Route 118 in Franklin Township.

Some residents described seeing the sheets of rain and hearing a roar like a freight train. Others said they saw only the rain but one woman described being unable to close a back door that had blown open.

Carl G. Renn Elementary School remained closed Friday because of the power outage, according to the East Lycoming School District.

More than 900 PPL customers in and around the Lairdsville area remained without electrical power Friday afternoon.

A huge hole is punched through the roof of a barn on the Temple Farm along Route 118 near Lairdsville a day after storms passed through eastern Lycoming County. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Power was expected to be restored at different times throughout the day.

National Weather Service forecaster John Banghoff said winds in excess of 80 mph blew through the area.

“It was not a tornado,” he said. “Tornadic winds for sure, but not a tornado.”

The storm, accompanied by precipitation, brought 0.92 inches of rain in Williamsport, but perhaps more in outlying areas.

The wind, Banghoff described as straight-line wind, meaning it blew in one direction.

Branches and debris litter the area around downtown Lairdsville after storms passed through eastern Lycoming County Thursday. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

A cinder block out-building behind the residence of Bob Ditzler on Funston Road collapsed. The debris and contents remained on the ground for the insurance adjuster to see.

Ditzler’s house also sustained heavy damage as did an apartment house next door..

He’d seen the thunderstorm coming, heard what he described as a roar and told his wife to head into the basement.

Around the village several barns were missing roofs. A wood beam thrust into the engine of a Jeep on the property of Temple manned a Bobcat to remove wood and metal roofing in preparation for additional cleaning up.

Residents of Lairdsville are helped by family and friends to clean up branches and debris after storms passed through eastern Lycoming County. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Following the burst of wind, to be determined if it was cyclonic or not, residents used flashlights to assess damage.

The southern side of Route 118 seemed to sustain the most structural damage.

Neighbors labored with rakes and were operating tractors equipped with scoops to take tons of tree and debris away. At least five house roofs remained covered.

“You realize who your friends are,” Ditzler said.

Much of this part of Franklin Township had evidence of possible tornado damage. Tree parts lined the highway. Metal shards were on top of trees. Mailboxes were cut in half. Whole massive trees were uprooted and some cut in half.

Bob Ditzler looks out the back of his house Friday morning, the morning after storms passed through eastern Lycoming County. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Temple and his family removed the farm machinery. Other than flood damage in 2011, he said, this was the worst to happen since he began farming and harvesting corn in 1945.

PPL utility line workers were on the poles Friday and Temple said he would use the fireplace to stay warm in what has been a slow-to-transition spring and hook up a generator until given clearance that power was restored.

Numerous businesses assisted those in need such as Fry Enterprises and Lewis Lumber Co. Neighbors in pickup trucks with trailers and flatbeds hauled large pieces of tree parts away. The community sustained heavy flood damage in 2011 when the Little Muncy Creek flooded.

As of 11 a.m. Friday the hardest hit area had 980 outages, according to the PPL outage map.

Owner of D.A.M. Containers had his grandkids and family cleaning up on the off-school emergency.

Residents of Lairdsville are helped by family and friends to clean up branches and debris after storms passed through eastern Lycoming County. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

He said, “We could just as easily need help in a situation some day and that was what friends and neighbors do for each other in times of need.”

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Residents of Lairdsville are helped by family and friends Friday morning, to clean up branches and debris after bad storms passed through eastern Lycoming County. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Residents of Lairdsville are helped by family and friends Friday morning, to clean up branches and debris after bad storms passed through eastern Lycoming County. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Residents of Lairdsville are helped by family and friends Friday morning, to clean up branches and debris after bad storms passed through eastern Lycoming County. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Branches and debris litter the landscape along Route 118 after damaging storms passed through eastern Lycoming County near Lairdsville. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Pieces of a barn at the Temple farm just outside Lairdsville can be seen scattered on Friday morning after Thursday's storms. KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette