Report/Video From Tornado

Tornado Survivor: One Year Later

Aug. 8, 2000

It was one year ago this week that a tornado cut a path of destruction through much of downtown Salt Lake City. Dozens of structures were damaged.

But one home was hit particularly hard.

A year later it looks a lot different.

Kirsten Sorenson produced this anniversary report.

A year ago August 11th, a tornado shredded the upper level of LaMar Smith's house.

News cameras beamed these shots worldwide, as relatives and friends began cleaning up - inside what looks like a dollhouse without a roof. LaMar's son, Kevin, summed up the emotions of that day.

Kevin Smith/Aug. 11, 1999: "IT'S JUST HARD TO SEE THIS HAPPEN, IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL HOME."

It was a scary day for all of Salt Lake, and especially for the Smiths, who needed more time than the rest of us to recover.

It's a few days shy of a year later. The Smith home has been reconstructed to look almost exactly as it did before.

LaMar, who recently turned 80, moved back in a few months ago.

LaMar Smith/Rebuilt House: "I'M PLEASED THAT THE HOUSE IS PUT BACK SO NICELY. IT PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AS IT WAS BEFORE."

There are still small reminders of what happened last August 11th.

LaMar Smith/Rebuilt House: "THIS WAS ALL HERE BEFORE. THERE'S SOME DAMAGE TO IT, WATER DAMAGE."

LaMar Smith didn't want this pine tree - twisted apart during the storm - torn down.

And this picture represents a small miracle.

Steven Smith/Son: "THAT PICTURE HAD FALLEN DOWN BETWEEN THE WALL AND THE PIANO, AND DIDN'T HAVE ANY SCRATCHES, THE GLASS WASN'T BROKEN, BUT EVERYTHING ELSE ON THIS WALL WAS GONE."

The south wall of the house caved in, but that is also another miracle.

Kevin Smith/Son: "THE WALL ACTUALLY FELL IN OVER THIS CHAIR, WHICH WAS A FAVORITE CHAIR OF MY FATHER'S, WHICH WAS REALLY FORTUNATE THAT HE WASN'T HERE AT THE TIME."

Moving back into his old house went a long way to healing emotional wounds. But the fearful feelings of the day remain.

LaMar Smith/Rebuilt House: "A FEW WEEKS AGO THERE WAS HEAVY WINDSTORM THAT WAS BLOWING THROUGH HERE AND IT KIND OF SCARED ME A LITTLE BIT."

As he looks back - here looking at a picture of his house published in a book - he finds the memories creating new emotion.

LaMar Smith/Son: "I'M MORE EMOTIONAL NOW WITH THESE INTERVIEWS THAN I WAS AT THE TIME."

The tornado damaged 120 homes, 34 of them were left uninhabitable.

The most recent estimates indicate the tornado did more than $150 million in damage. Repairs to the Smith's home were covered mostly by insurance.