In the five years since a tornado tore a 50-mile path through New Hampshire, residents have rebuilt and worked hard to prepare for another storm.
The rural farm community of Epsom was one of the towns seriously damaged by the tornado on July 24, 2008.
"Once I saw this town, I realized it was a tornado that had come through," said Fire Chief Stewart Yeaton.
Hours before the tornado struck, it was a typical summer day in Epsom, with warm, muggy weather. It all changed in a few seconds, and Yeaton was one of the first responders to get the call that something was wrong.
"We had heavy thunderstorms roll through, just downpours," he said. "We got the calls for trees down on wires."
It quickly became clear that something more powerful than a thunderstorm had hit the town. The tornado ripped through a mile of the town with wind speeds as high as 135 mph.
Trees were uprooted and scattered across the area. Wooden telephone poles bent like plastic, and homes were destroyed in an instant.
Roger Britton said his home was one of the more than three dozen damaged by the storm. He and his family weren't home when the storm hit, but when they returned, it was a shock.
"I got to the top of the hill, and I had my daughter and a brother-in-law with me, and I slammed on the brakes," Britton said. "They said, 'What's wrong, Dad?' I said, 'I can see the whole lake.' Then it dawned on me. There's no trees left."
Branches were sprawled across driveways, yards and roofs. The winds were so intense they lifted Britton's home from its foundation.
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