HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Hundreds of people remain without power in Hot Springs as cleanup efforts continue.
About 800 customers were left in the dark Thursday morning, according to Energy. By evening, crews were down to about 600 outages.
‘Scariest moment of my life’ EF-2 tornado flips Garland County home
Select areas such as Long Island Drive and Peninsula Drive have been closed to all but residents since Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, hundreds of people are waiting to begin their own recovery work.
A collapsed porch, a destroyed garage and a tree crushing the roof. Everywhere around David Voyles is a reminder of what the EF-2 tornado took away.
“You don’t really know what to do,” Voyles admitted.
He’s waiting for insurance adjusters before removing anything, but he’s not complaining because he’s happy to be moving. A tree branch pierced his bedroom wall inches from where he slept. An alarm gave him enough time to get into a safe space before broken glass scattered everywhere.
“The glass fell on our bed and it was all broken and a piece of the tree went through the wall right next to our head, so we were lucky,” Voyles said.
Tornado recovery continues at Hot Springs, local restaurant damaged
As he breathed a sigh of relief, the twister was heading toward Samantha Scott’s house on Peninsula Drive.
“I didn’t really have trees in my yard, but when I woke up and looked outside, I definitely had trees in my yard,” Scott said.
Your entire Peninsula Drive community is without power. Entergy crews have been working simply to clear a path to access their tangled lines.
“They got here in the early hours of the morning with chainsaws,” Scott said. “They are little heroes to us.”
While work is underway, his neighborhood is inaccessible because of potential looters and bystanders slowing recovery.
“They stopped my clients from being able to come to my salon…just stay out of the neighborhoods if you don’t live here,” she urged.
The attackers said Thursday it would take a few days for everyone on Peninsular Drive to get power back, but helplessly have more than one meeting as recovery ramps up in Hot Springs.
National Weather Service says Hot Springs was hit by EF-2 tornado overnight
Voyles said it took him five months to return since the last time his house had a tree on top.
“It will take a long time. We’re just going to have to deal with it,” Voyles said.
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