Wind blows roof off lumberyard

Winds from a severe thunderstorm in Hartford, Mich. lifted the roof off a local lumberyard on Aug. 3 and deposited it in the Family Dollar parking lot next door, according to an article in the Kalamazoo Gazette. 

Smith Lumber opened for business the next day, sans roof, and damage estimates are nearly $70,000. But owner Katie Smith said she was just happy that no one was in either store at 9 p.m. when the roof, measuring 44 feet by 240 feet, blew away in one big sheet of trusses and metal. A local weather expert estimated winds at 40 to 45 mph. 

Community members and other businesses are helping with the clean-up.