COOK FALLS – Three state and federal lawmakers Monday came to the site of the devastation north of Roscoe in Delaware County where a microburst ripped through two campsites on Sunday.
The storm claimed the life of a woman at the Russell Brook Campsites in Delaware County. Another woman who was sitting on her couch narrowly missed serious injury when a tree came crashing down on her camper and landed just inches from where she was sitting.Congressman Marc Molinaro, State Senator Peter Oberacker, and Assemblyman Joseph Angelino went to the campsite to offer any help the campers and facility owners needed.
“All of us share in a deep sense of sadness and we are shocked as to the power of the storm,” said Assemblyman Angelino from the 121st Assembly District. “There’s really nothing that can be done after the fact except to offer a shoulder for them, a good hearty handshake, and just let them know we empathized with their situation.”
Several fire agencies responded to the storm including some from Sullivan County.
The Cooks Falls-Horton Fire Chief, Chris Jaimbel, described what it was like to try to access the area.
“We had massive trees down everywhere. It was a difficult effort to get in but the owner of the campground, made a lot of headway cutting trees and getting everything cleared out of the road so we could get our emergency services up here,” he said.
Communications were knocked out at the campground and Molinaro said that they are working on trying to make sure that all areas in New York state have cellular and internet services. The area may be without power for up to five days.
”Whether it’s fire departments trying to talk to police agencies or even to talk among themselves or residents being able to call and contact out, it’s critically important that we not only expand Wi-Fi access but cellular service as well,” Molinaro said.
