Sunrise Thursday Morning Found
Homeowners Assessing Damages and
Beginning Cleanup

 

by: Bobby McDonald

 

It was a night without power and wonder for many homeowners in Sulphur Springs, as they awaited Thursday morning's daylight, to see what damages had been done to their property. "We knew we had extensive roof damage," allowed one College Street resident. "Because we saw the shingles all over the yard, in the dark last night, but we didn't realize just how much, until we got out this morning."

 

Daylight proved what this homeowner on Michel Lane had feared. They had extensive roof
damage, following last night's storms.

 

"We heard the 'freight-train sound and knew what it was, when it came through, but really couldn't tell what all it had done, in the dark," expressed a Michel Lane resident. "We just knew that our neighbor's storage building was in the street and shingles were everywhere, then this morning, we were able to see extensive roof damage and find many things from our backyard scattered throughout the neighborhood. It's a mess!"

 

I talked with Hopkins County Commissioner Beth Wisenbaker, about 10:00 p.m., last night, as she was out with her crews, clearing roadways in the Shirley and Divide Communities. "I went out in my backyard and looked to the south and detected boiling clouds and knew that it was a tornado," related Wisenbaker. "I immediately got with my crew, and we began traveling the roads and fielding calls. There was extensive tree damage in the Divide Community and then several mobile homes received extensive damages between Divide and Shirley. We're going to find even more damage, in the morning, when we can see better!"

 

Twisted trees in the College Street area of Sulphur Springs.....

 

Had tree trimming crews out clearing the debris, by 8:00 on Thursday morning.

 

"I want to commend my county workers," explained Wisenbaker. "Within 20 minutes they had arrived at the County Barn and were moving equipment to locations where it was needed to clear trees from the roadways. It's going to be a long night for all of us, but that's what we're here for!"

 

 

The College Street area south of I-30 was one of the heavier hit areas, for roof damage, from the winds and falling trees. Residents awoke on Thursday morning, to find their roofs heavily damaged with many of them "stripped down" to the tar paper. "It's going to be difficult to keep the roof from leaking inside," expressed one homeowner. "Hopefully, the weather will be in our favor, until we can get a roofer here to repair damages!"

 

"It's a mess!" allowed this homeowner, when the assessed their front yard on Thursday morning.

 

 

 

Large hail was reported on the north side of Sulphur Springs, and many homeowners in that area of town were out looking at vehicles and roofs, on Thursday morning, to see what damage had actually occurred.

Additional reports found that the Dike and Flora Communities of Hopkins County also received wind and storm damage, also.

The storm that first did extensive damage to the Canton area, south of us, moved into Hopkins County, soon after everyone left work, on Wednesday afternoon, stalling traffic on South Broadway, damaging homes and out buildings, and overturning two eighteen-wheelers on I-30, near the Sulphur Springs Country Club.

 

Local utility and service crews were out early on Thursday morning and many had worked all night,
as they attempted to restore power to local residents, who spent the night without electricity and other services.

 

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