'Coming together': Star Valley, a small Arizona town, steps up in tornado aftermath

A tornado that hit Star Valley on Sunday afternoon left dozens of damaged homes, downed trees blocking the streets and power outage reports across the small town located just east of Payson.

Town manager Tim Grier told The Arizona Republic that a team of local and state agencies, nonprofit organizations and hundreds of neighbors were working to assess the damages and assist community members on Monday morning.

"The community is coming together, we have the whole neighborhood that has been working to clean the streets and help each other," Grier said. "Today is kind of the first morning we're assessing the damages and determining what we need."

The National Weather Service in Flagstaff sent a team to survey the town on Sunday afternoon and determined the area received damage consistent with a weaker EF-1 tornado. Peak winds ranged between 95 and 105 mph, according to the weather service.

Where is Star Valley? How 'community is coming together'

Star Valley is a small town of about 2,500 residents incorporated into Gila County in 2005.

It has an area of 36.15 square miles and it is located just east of Payson and about 89 miles southeast of Sedona.

Grier said although the town was not prepared for the disaster that suddenly hit the community, he said the initial lack of resources has been outweighed by the earnest work of the community and the resources provided by the Gila County Emergency Management, the Payson Fire and Police departments and the nonprofits and businesses that have stepped in.

"Our resources being a small town are somewhat limited, but we have had the community step up," Grier said. "We're trying to get whatever help we can for these folks."

Grier said one of the town residents was hospitalized following the tornado after he fell off a roof while trying to put blue tarps to cover up the damages left by the weather disaster. According to Grier, he was receiving treatment and was expected to make a full recovery soon.

Some other residents had minor injuries from being pushed away by the strong winds or slipping in the rain, but according to Grier, no one else required hospitalization or any further treatment, "which is like a miracle if you look at the damages," Grier said.

Grier also confirmed to The Republic on Monday that no dog died during the tornado. The dog initially reported to have died was later found by her owners."We thought a dog had died because her family could not find her anywhere," Grier said. "Turns out she was hiding under the bed the whole time."

National Weather Service: Surveying tornado damage in Arizona town

Damages still being assessed

Grier said initially about 10 homes were believed to have been damaged, but as agencies continued to evaluate the condition of the town, more damaged houses were found and he expected the number to continue to grow as the day progressed. Some homes had only minor damages that were expected to be fixed soon.

The Red Cross and three churches that arrived from neighboring areas were also at the town to assess the needs of displaced residents, Grier said. Among them, Rim View Community Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have sent food and volunteers.

Grier also said numerous downed trees could be seen all over the town streets, making it difficult to access certain areas.

Tree Crafters, a business based in Payson, also stepped in to help the community by removing trees and cleaning up large branches blocking the road. The company was offering the tree removal services at no charge, Grier said.

Grier added he felt "very thankful" the town has a supportive and uplifting community.

"We're a mountain community, and people here have rolled up their sleeves and get to work," he said.

Colder, calmer weather ahead for Star Valley

Meteorologist Lamont Bain with the weather service in Flagstaff said the weather was expected to be a lot calmer for the rest of the week with climate activity unwinding and hazards unlikely to make a comeback

Besides a few isolated showers, no rain or snow was expected to hit the area for the next several days and strong winds and thunderstorms were not likely to make another appearance in all of northern Arizona, Bain said.

Yet, he said temperatures will drop into the teens to low 20s during nighttime and he advised residents to prepare for the wintry temperatures expected to hit the area.

'Very tranquil': Thanksgiving week expected for Arizona after tornado hits Star Valley

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tornado in Star Valley: Small Arizona town comes together