Sanford residents band together to clean up destroyed main street

SANFORD, Mich. – Every business along the main street in Sanford has been damaged by the flood.

A new energy can be found Friday on Saginaw Road as residents help clean and fix their community.

READ: ‘Catastrophic’ flooding, evacuations in mid-Michigan as dams fail: What to know

“All I could think of was that it looked like a war zone,” said Pam Riggie, with Sanford Pizza.

Not only is Sanford Pizza destroyed, photos inside of Riggie’s late father were also washed away.

“I had a collage of him by the register -- that’s where I lived -- gone," Riggie said. "My son came in and he found his ashes. He salvaged that for me.”

Massive flood waters slammed into the mid-Michigan village when a dam up-river failed Tuesday.

RELATED: NASA images show difference in rivers, dams after flooding in mid-Michigan

Every business was hit hard. Sanford Pizza’s pizza off was tossed through the back wall.

“Never in a million years would I think this would happen,” Riggie said.

The customers who came for pick-up to help the business stay afloat during the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders returned Friday to help clean up.

“It is the same way with other businesses," Riggie said. “It is the community that pulls together.”

MORE FLOOD COVERAGE:

• Shocking mid-Michigan flood pictures show ravaged roads, underwater houses, floating cars
• Gov. Whitmer on mid-Michigan floods: Devastation, possible legal action, peak flood level
• Investigating who is responsible for Edenville Dam failure that led to devastating floods
• Tim Pamplin tours mid-Michigan flood damage: ‘Roof of a house. No idea where rest of the house is’
• ‘2020 has been one blow after another’ -- Midland Farmers Market hit by flood day before reopening
• ‘Looked like Niagra Falls’ -- Dam that created Wixom Lake gives way, flooding mid-Michigan communities