Cranford Tries to Get Rid of Irene

Throughout Monday, it appeared that much of Cranford was having a massive town-wide tag sale. But the yards full of chairs, rugs, golf clubs, toys and boxes were the cherished belongings of residents who were trying to sort through possessions that could be salvaged and the things so waterlogged they'd have to be tossed in the trash.

The homeowners mingled with neighbors and strangers alike, talking about their experiences during Hurricane Irene and how they hoped to restore their houses to pre-Irene conditions. 

As Ryan Helmstetter stood in his puddle-filled garage, he worked with family members to clear out the plastic bins, old paint cans and odds and ends that were still in the damp garage, following Hurricane Irene's run through Cranford.

But that was just the beginning of his clean-up effort.

More than five feet of standing water remained in his basement, down from the floor-to-ceiling flooding that occurred the night before as Irene pummeled his Springfield Avenue neighborhood.

Helmstetter's family has lived at 825 Springfield Avenue for 23 years — a home that now belongs to him and his siblings after inheriting it from their parents.

Ryan, 29, lives there with his wife, Beth, his sister Caitlin, and his brother Daniel. They have been trying to sell the house since May; Irene hasn't made that task any easier.

The Helmstetters knew ahead of time to prepare for the storm. They moved a lot of their belongings out of the basement and stocked up on food and water. As a result of their preparations, they only lost a few items but the damage to the basement remains to be seen as they work to pump out what Irene left behind.

Ryan Helmstetter said a friend of his was going to donate his pump to help suck out the water in the basement — a job he expected to take about eight hours.

"We didn't think it would get this bad," he said, adding that his family had to be evacuated by boat when water hit the basement ceiling and looked as though it would rise to the first floor.

Helmstetter's wife, Beth, says she has lived in the house since 2007. She said the family worked diligently from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. Sunday to protect it from the rapidly rising waters. "We stayed and pumped while we were supposed to have gotten out of there," she said.

By about 5 p.m. Sunday, she said, "We just saw these emergency guys in boats coming around to save people up and down the street," Beth said. "The water was inches from coming into the first floor and we just had to go. I am 30 weeks pregnant and it was time to get out of here. They brought the boat right up to the front door. It was crazy, just like the movies," she added. "Boy, was I happy to get in that boat."

Beth said the rescue crew took them to the other side of the neighborhood, behind Dreher Farms. "We went to my parents' house. we got to relax for a little while."

Emergency officials rescued them and floated them to safety, he said. They stayed with his in-laws in a drier part of town and returned to start cleaning up on Monday.

"I just couldn't believe all the water," he said.

Irene Doesn't Dampen Move-In Day

Across town on Holly Street, Cranford resident Chris Baker wasn't working on cleaning out her home but moving into it.

Baker had planned for weeks to move into 103 Holly Street and was worried Irene would delay her plans.

"I was so happy when I saw the movers pull up," she said. Baker lives with her husband and 5-year-old daughter. They were living at a home on Windsor Place while their Holly Street home was renovating. Luckily, Irene spared their renovated home any damage and only left a muddy backyard and a few puddles on the freshly-painted basement floor.

"For being on the river in Cranford, we did pretty damn good," she said with a smile as she picked up another box to unpack.