Tuesday Marked The 4th Anniversary Of The Fairdale Tornado

On the evening of April 9th, 2015, an extremely violent and long-lived tornado tore through the communities near Rochelle and in Fairdale, leaving 2 dead and 11 injured.

For those who were here during that horrific event, the memories are very clear. For those who weren't, here's a little background, courtesy of Wikipedia:

Part of a larger severe weather event that impacted the Central United States, the tornado first touched down in Lee County at 6:39 p.m. CDT (22:39 UTC). It progressed through the counties of Ogle, DeKalb, and Boone before finally dissipating at 7:20 p.m. CDT. Along the tornado's 30.14 mi (48.51 km) path, numerous structures were heavily damaged or destroyed, especially in the small town of Fairdale where two fatalities and eleven injuries were recorded. A few well-constructed homes were swept completely away, indicative of peak winds near 200 mph (320 km/h), the upper bounds of an EF4 tornado. In the aftermath of the event, hundreds of citizens assisted in cleanup and recovery efforts. Economic losses from the tornado reached $19 million (2015 USD).

23 WIFR News:

The E-4 tornado took the lives of Geri Schultz and Jackie Klosa. The tornado reached speeds up to 200 miles per hour, destroying 13 homes and damaging more than 70, according to officials.

Clem Schultz, husband of Geri Schultz, was capturing video of what turned out to be a deadly tornado in Fairdale, Illinois. When it directly hit and destroyed his home, he initially feared the worse.

Schultz says, "Am I dead? I figured yeah I might be dead. Then I said no I'm not dead because I hurt, so I started to dig out from the rubble on top of me."

At the time of the tornado, he was one floor above his wife, and that's when he found out the devastating news.

He says, "Because I hurt, a neighbor or first responder helped me walk my way out of the rubble. He said now sit on this beam but don't look down because you're wife is right under you and she's dead."