Iowans who are trying to rebuild their homes and lives after last week’s derecho are finding it very difficult to find certain supplies, from fence boards and two-by-fours to refrigerators and toilets. Jay Iverson, executive officer of the Homebuilders Association of Iowa, says hundreds, perhaps thousands of Iowa homeowners lost fences during the destructive winds, which gusted up to 140 miles an hour in eastern Iowa. Good luck trying to find those six-foot dog-ear-cut cedar boards to rebuild a fence, he says, as most stores are sold out, though supplies may be plentiful in areas that weren’t touched by the storm.

There’s plenty of business out there, Iverson says, and there’s no decline in the number of orders — it will just take time for supplies of raw materials to catch up and be able to meet demand.