Gallery: Northwood evacuated

Published 1:23 pm Thursday, February 20, 2014

Alyssa Picht, behind, Donna Hovey, right, and Nicole Wahl, front, assist 100-year-old Margaret Godfrey down the steps of a bus the morning of Thursday in Kensett, Iowa. The women worked for Lutheran Retirement Home in Northwood, which had been evacuated because of an explosion at a fertilizer storage facility at the municipal airport. — Tim Engstrom/Albert Lea Tribune

See a gallery below by clicking on the photographs.

: Law enforcement block the road near the site of a chemical fire in Northwood Wednesday morning. Photo courtesy Northwood Anchor

: A note hangs on the door of the Northwood Civic Center on Thursday morning. It reads: “Closed. Please go to Kensett Community Center or Kensett Fire Station.” — Tim Engstrom/Albert Lea Tribune

: First responders, food preparers and other people shuffle about Thursday in the kitchen of the Kensett Community Center. — Tim Engstrom/Albert Lea Tribune

: Three Northwood-Kensett students wait patiently Thursday at the Kensett Community Center, a former gymnasium. From left are Tom Fick, 15, Joshua Einertson, 16, and Nick Lombard, 17. Einertson and Lombard work at the grocery store in Northwood and said they had to place food in freezers and leave quickly. — Tim Engstrom/Albert Lea Tribune

: A Union Pacific train stands still Thursday in Gordonsville, where a driver picked up the engineers. The train could not go into Northwood because it was evacuated following an explosion at a fertilizer storage facility. — Tim Engstrom/Albert Lea Tribune

: School buses from the Northwood-Kensett school district line a street in Kensett ready to shuttle seniors to and from nursing homes. The schools were closed Thursday because of an expected blizzard. — Tim Engstrom/Albert Lea Tribune

: Evelyn Ocel, 10, holds a Chihuahua-terrier mix Thursday at the Kensett Community Center. She and other evacuees with pets were taken to Kensett City Hall. — Tim Engstrom/Albert Lea Tribune

: U.S. Highway 65 through an evacuated Northwood, Iowa, at seven minutes to 10 a.m. Thursday, February 20, 2014, appears empty, save for a few stragglers who were unaware of the evacuation or refused to leave. — Tim Engstrom/Albert Lea Tribune

: Jane Ritzert of Kensett pours coffee Thursday at the Kensett Community Center, a former school gymnasium. The people gathering there were evacuated from their homes in Northwood, six miles to the north. — Tim Engstrom/Albert Lea Tribune

: Alyssa Picht, behind, Donna Hovey, right, and Nicole Wahl, front, assist 100-year-old Margaret Godfrey down the steps of a bus the morning of Thursday in Kensett, Iowa. The women worked for Lutheran Retirement Home in Northwood, which had been evacuated because of an explosion at a fertilizer storage facility at the municipal airport. — Tim Engstrom/Albert Lea Tribune