TYLER, Texas — Now that the temperature has risen and most of the ice melted, many East Texans are focusing on repairing the damage this winter storm caused.
You’ve heard them, you’ve seen them, and you’ve felt them. Big trees falling all over East Texas are causing issues, and now the repair process begins.
"It completely punctured a hole throughout the entire roof system, we’ve got rafters damaged, we got gutter damage, so we’ve tarped the entirety of this roof system," said owner of Yosemite Roofing, Josiah Rosebury.
The list of damage spots at this Chapel Hill home goes on and on. Rosebury said it's not a unique situation either.
"We’ve been running all over East Texas helping homeowner and business owners try to mitigate further damage on their homes and on their businesses," Rosebury said.
Contractors are trying to keep houses dry by extracting water from the inside as the ice thaws. The slow melting process means the number of insurance claims will only speed up.
"We’ve had just about 1,000 home and auto claims and we expect that number to rise a lot as power is restored to the state," State Farm Spokesperson, Gina Wilken, said.
Marvin Melton said he's thankful the damage at his house wasn't worse.
"There’s a tree on my front yard," said Tyler resident, Marvin Melton.
Melton was taking a nap when he heard a branch snap. Once he walked outside, he saw this big oak tree at the foot of his door sparing all of his property, like his windmill.
"And it’s still standing, missed it by two inches," Melton said.
And as the saying goes if life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. Melton tells us that, with all this wood, he plans on making wooden bowls to remember this occasion.
State Farm adds that you should take pictures of all the damage you may have before you clear debris or fixing anything. That way, it’ll be documented for your claim.