ST. LOUIS – FOX 2 went back to a St. Louis neighborhood, the scene of heartbreak and resilience following the May 16 tornado, to see if anything’s changed. We were struck Wednesday by the silence in the Academy/Sherman Park neighborhood, broken up by the occasional homeowner cleaning up with the help of neighbors.

At the time, we saw no signs of any help from the government. What a difference a day makes.

The sound of chainsaws was a hint of what we were about to see on a what was a quiet street Wednesday. It was hard to believe it was even the same street – this time with action that you could both see and hear.

The St. Louis Forestry Department showed up in force Thursday to remove a colossal tree that tore its way inside this home during the tornado.

It was a remarkable comparison to the previous day’s scene, where we found the homeowner alone and working against the odds with his single chainsaw. He was one of many people who feared help would never come.

“Yeah, it’s been surprising; been people from everywhere but not the government,” resident Willie Thomas said.

Twenty-four hours later, Thomas’ mood has changed.

“They’re here, ha-ha-ha!” Thomas exclaimed.

The city’s presence bolstered the efforts of private volunteers who have been there from the start.

“We were supposed to come out and do the chainsaw work and, thankfully, the city showed up,” volunteer Victor Malmgren said.

That allowed volunteers to hit other needed areas, such as the home where we saw Fred Thomas sitting alone on his stoop. He was surrounded at the time with chaos and no visible help. On Thursday, his front walk was bustling with help.

“Progress is already being made, so we gotta move onto the next place,” Malmgren said.

It’s an endless path of destruction in all directions. We found decimated vehicles with their windows smashed out and giant pieces of steel piled up on one of the cars.

“They’re doing what they can do,” Thomas said. “I mean, ain’t nothing overnight.”

Especially when you consider some damage is far out of reach, like the missing roof from the historic Westminster Presbyterian Church. The massive damage towers 100 feet above. We took video from our drone to see how daunting the job will be. The damaged area is bigger than some billboards and it’s easy to spot from blocks away.

At least neighbors are now thankful they are also starting to feel seen.