Jackson pulls together for storm cleanup
JACKSON, Tenn. — Residents across Jackson and Madison County gathered to help each other deal with the debris from Wednesday’s severe weather.
Residents, business owners, and Jackson Fire Department all came together to help each other with the clean-up.
Josh Rogers and Eren Timbes, residents of Jackson, say the weather was more than they expected.
“Yeah. I know looking at the radar looked pretty rough, but I didn’t expect to see this many down trees,” Rogers said.
Timbes says they were out when the storm hit, but came back to a yard full of debris and devastation.
She says they have been working on fixing everything since Wednesday night.
“Last night we got here around 6:00 and left around 11, and now we’re back here for about two hours. So about eight hours already,” Timbes said.
Rogers says if it wasn’t for the community, he doesn’t know how long it would have taken to clear the debris and patch the roof on his house.
“I know the neighbors have spent just as much time as well,” Rogers said. “It’s really good to see a lot of the community coming together to help out. So there’s a lot of people from down the road helping us.”
Stan Griffin, a local pastor at Westover Baptist Church, says his church suffered immense damage, but he is just glad everyone is okay.
“Right now we’re trying to remove some of the trees and kind of get some of these cars off the parking lot that have been damaged,” Griffin said.
Griffin says he is thankful for all the volunteers within the community that offered to help.
“We have volunteers this morning, and then there are folks that are standing by to come and help the Westover community to come and help,” Griffin said.
He says even though the storm devastated the community, it has brought the people of Jackson so much closer together.
“Storms generally bring out the best in us. Let’s just put it that way. Folks will kind of rally together to do what’s necessary to kind of get our lives back together,” Griffin said.
Jackson Family Christian School was also impacted by the storm. They were closed on Thursday due to damage and lack of power.
The Jackson and Madison County Fire Departments and Jackson Energy Authority are working to clear debris off the streets and get power back to residents.
The National Weather Service has confirmed that three tornadoes touched down in the West Tennessee area.
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