Wells residents prepare for cleanup

Alex Cabrero reportingOf course after the big earthquake in Wells, Nev., this morning, many people have lots of cleaning up to do. Nearly every building in Wells sustained some damage.

Shirley Garrett, a resident of Wells, said, "It sounded like the building was gonna crash."

The 6.0 earthquake shook up her sense of security while shaking down everything inside the hardware store where she was working. Boxes, books and bolts, and seemingly everything else ended up on the floor.

But all that stuff is still better than falling bricks.

Wells resident Gene Kaplan said, "It wasn't until I walked over to the window and looked down and saw parts of a brick wall in the alley."

Kaplan owns three buildings in the historic section of downtown Wells. All three were severely damaged. "You hear the bookcases going, and then you hear the shelves in the pantry going."

Some store owners began cleaning up right away. Others just wonder when the aftershocks will stop. Mike Cichy, who owns the Frontier Apartments, said, "This was like the earthquake was right below us, and the building was just going back and forth like it was getting ready to fall apart."

Now it's just a matter of trying to get back to normal. Because of all the damage to buildings downtown, the elementary school in Wells has been set up as an emergency shelter. We understand there are a lot of people staying there tonight.

As for the future of historic downtown Wells, business owners say they would like to rebuild; right now it's just a matter of how and when.

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