MILAM, Texas — Trees down, RVs destroyed, boats flipped – that’s the situation folks at Holly Park Marina on Toledo Bend in Sabine County are left with after a possible tornado spun off Tropical Storm Beryl and tore through the area Monday.
A funnel cloud reportedly came through Toledo Bend around 1 p.m. with plenty of eye-witnesses.
"I was around that curb, there was nothing going on. I mean a little wind. But all of a sudden, debris, and man I looked out here, you couldn’t see the lake from the water, looked like it was drawing it out of the lake." Holly Park Marina resident Glen McDaniel said
McDaniel said he saw a possible tornado appear over the water, creating tons of damage all throughout the marina. It was gone within a minute. But despite all the destruction, no one was injured.
"All these things are material right, they can be replaced. You can’t replace someone’s life. So for us having something like this come through, and not actually injure anyone, that’s a big blessing for all of us," Sabine County Emergency Management Coordinator David Roach said.
Significant progress has already been made in terms of cleanup. Volunteer fire departments, electric companies even county judges have been on hand helping clear debris. These residents are just glad to be on the other side of it.
"You think well I’ll do this, I’ll do that. Man, when they tell you to go somewhere, go somewhere," resident Barry Webb said.
This summer is going to look a little bit different for residents of the marina, but there’s already been significant cleanup progress from Monday to Tuesday. The hope is that the marina will be back up and running in a couple of months.