Cleanup continues after tornado tears through Paulding County
Several trees fall on dad's house
The main issue in Paulding County has been tree damage. FOX 5 Atlanta reporter Kim Leoffler touched base with a family house crushed by a total of seven trees. Luckily, everyone was able to make it out to safety.
PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. - Cleanup efforts are in full swing after a tornado touched down in Paulding County over the weekend.
The storm brought down hundreds of trees, damaged homes, and tore the roof off a gas station.
What we know:
The EF-1 tornado, with winds reaching up to 110 mph, caused significant destruction along Graham Road. Fallen trees crushed sheds and homes, and power lines remain down in several areas. According to the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office, at least 14 homes were damaged, but no deaths or major injuries have been reported.
PREVIOUS STORY: EF-1 tornado confirmed in Paulding County during overnight storm
While recovery efforts continue, local officials are warning residents about scammers looking to take advantage of storm victims.
What they're saying:
"Watch out for scammers—roof scammers, tree scammers. Don't fall victim to that," the Paulding County Sheriff cautioned. "Make sure they’re verified, licensed, and insured before giving them any money."
"It's hard to believe it's our house," Zach Burgess said. Zach Burgess is grateful he and his family are OK after seven trees crushed their home Saturday night. He said one landed on the room where his daughter and niece were sleeping.
"I ran into my daughter’s room, grabbed my daughter and my niece, carried them to the stairs, and then the ceiling in my daughter’s room collapsed," Burgess said. "Ten seconds later, I would have had to have been digging through debris to get them out of the bed," he added.
He said dozens of people, some he didn't even know, came out on Sunday to help get the trees cleared from their home. "It means a lot, especially with everything going on nowadays; people coming together is a big thing," Burgess explained.
"A tremendous amount of tree damage," Charles Golden with Flight for Life said. As soon as the storm passed, volunteers from Flight for Life in North Carolina came to the area to help. The group was formed during relief efforts for Hurricane Helene.
Volunteers are surveying the damage from the air and are reporting their findings to the county. Charles Golden says the storm could have been much worse. "That tornado stayed high; it didn't come down as low. If it had actually made contact with the ground or even just come down another 20 feet, so it would have been 20 feet rather than 40 or 30 feet, it would have gotten into the houses, and that's a lot more life-threatening," Golden explained.
Tornado cleanup continues in Paulding County
Cleanup efforts are in full swing after a tornado touched down in Paulding County over the weekend, bringing down hundreds of trees, damaging homes, and tearing the roof off a gas station.
What's next:
With several roads still blocked and power line repairs underway, authorities say cleanup could take weeks, if not months. State emergency crews are assisting in the recovery, and officials are continuing to assess the full extent of the damage.
The Burgess family has set up a GoFundMe account to try to help them recover.