CLEMSON — Clemson University senior Ryan Figg arrived home Tuesday afternoon to discover an oak tree had crashed into his apartment. Felled during the tornado that swept through Clemson on Tuesday, the tree destroyed the roof above the master bedroom of his North Clemson Avenue digs.

Neither Figg, nor his three roommates, were home at the time of the storm. A Gainesville, Ga. native, Figg had been at the bookstore, purchasing a finance book.

“The master bedroom was completely demolished. There’s not much of that room left,” Figg said. “The tree trunk is going diagonally across the room.”

Storm damage also put a hole in the corner of Figg’s bedroom, where the roof meets the wall. Rain damage soiled the ceiling at the off-campus apartment. A laptop computer, desk, clothing and possibly some stereo speakers were destroyed.

Figg and his roommates turned to Clemson’s Department of University Housing. The university put the students up temporarily in Lightsey Bridge, an on-campus housing facility. In addition, Clemson Vice President of Student Affairs Rusty Guill took the displaced quartet to Wal-Mart, where he bought them clothes, food, toothbrushes and other accessories.

“He was really good to us,” Figg said, noting Guill also took he and his roommates out to dinner at Seneca’s Copper River.

At Figg’s North Clemson Avenue apartment, the rent totaled $1,200 per month. He and his cohabitants believe they've found another residence, but the rent is $400 more. The storm has also impacted the students’ schoolwork. A business management major, Figg missed classes Wednesday as he searched for a new pad. His professors, however, were notified and understood the predicament, Figg said.

The Clemson campus endured an estimated $20,000 worth of storm related damages, some of which occurred in the shadows of Littlejohn Coliseum. Trees were downed on Centennial Boulevard. In the nearby C-9 parking lot, trees fell on three to four cars. There were also limbs down near the intersection of Centennial Boulevard and Avenue of Champions, the latter street runs underneath the Memorial Stadium breezeway.

In addition, a light pole was downed on the Clemson intramural field on Centennial Boulevard and S.C. Highway 93. Two sets of traffic lights on Cherry Road were out of commission for about an hour.

Additional campus damages were reported Wednesday. Near Garrison Arena, a cattle complex and “covered open area arena” sustained damages to roofs, lighting, fencing and gutters.

Clemson News Services Director Robin Denny said no storm-related injuries have been reported at the university.

Off-campus, Clemson Public Works Director David Connor said storm issues affected Folger and Pine Streets, as well as North Clemson Avenue. Crews worked in the area until 10 p.m. Tuesday clearing debris, only to be called back later to resolve another limb issue.

“We’re going to have an incredible amount of debris this morning that will take a while to get up,” Connor said Wednesday. “There’s a tremendous amount of trees down affecting homeowners. We don’t know exactly how many loads there will be until it’s all said and done. We have seen worse. It could have been worse.”

Connor said some trees became hung up in power lines, requiring Duke Energy to de-activate the lines before city workers could remove the clutter. In addition, a tree surgeon was called in.

“Clemson utilities, Duke Energy and Clemson police kept pedestrians and vehicles out of area while we worked,” Connor said. “There were a lot of walkers and sightseers that were really detrimental to our area, walking with dogs and kids, and Duke Energy had not given us the OK to go in and cut (limbs). Naturally, there was a danger to those folks. That was something the public needs to be aware of: when something like that is going on, people need to stay away because there were live wires everywhere.”

Storm issues resulted in power outages and structural damages for some households in the vicinity, Connor said.

“One house had the chimney knocked off the house, where the meter was. A limb went through the top of a house in Shorecrest,” Connor said. “All we did last night was primarily clear roadways and all the things we moved to the side of the road, we are doing today. We’ll probably see the ripple effect of this for another couple of weeks.”

According to Clemson Police Chief Jimmy Dixon, power was restored to the area about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. After Tuesday’s storm, Clemson Police called in extra officers until midnight. On Wednesday, the Clemson Police Department was utilizing normal patrol in the affected areas. Clemson police monitor weather in their dispatch center 24 hours a day.

“We’re just in recovery mode,” Dixon said. “It was a very short-lived tornado. Fortunately, there were no injuries as of today, and we can count our blessings.”