Munster town officials said they have spent $650,000, and are still tallying up the cost to clean up after the tornado that touched down in the Ridge communities Aug. 4, uprooting trees and tearing the roofs off homes.

Munster Town Manager Thomas DeGiulio said they are getting the bills from contractors, who helped clear numerous trees north of Ridge Road. He figures the town will spend about $700,000 out of its own coffers to do the cleanup.

Now that work has been done to restore the area, DeGiulio said town officials are turning their attention to examining their response to the storm.

"We intend to provide a complete report to the council, and we are going to meet in mid-September and talk about the areas where we thought we did OK and other areas where we need to improve," DeGiulio said.

Meanwhile, Highland Clerk-Treasurer Michael Griffin estimated that town has spent in excess of $100,000 cleaning up after the storm.

Griffith Public Works Director Rick Konopasek estimated they have spent more than $70,000 alone in over time as town workers have handled most of the cleanup. He said they hired an outside contractor to remove high branches that town workers couldn't reach with their bucket trucks.