O'FALLON, Mo. — Weekend storms hit the north side of O’Fallon, Missouri, particularly hard.
Saturday afternoon Nathan Koch was watching TV at home inside when the storm rushed through his neighborhood.
“Next thing I know, there's a tree laying on my roof,” Koch said. "Super extensive damage broke through some of the trusses. You know, there's a big giant hole with drywall still falling out of the ceiling in the kitchen."
Koch said they had quite a bit of water damage and are still waiting on insurance.
“Used every towel in the house to soak up all the water. We just got done washing and drying them all. It was terrible,” Koch said.
He says they’ve lived there for 19 years, and the timing couldn’t be worse.
“We just had this siding put on a month ago when this happened. So if it weren't for bad luck, we wouldn't have any luck,” Koch said.
Trees came down all over the O’Fallon Forest Park neighborhood, and the power went out all over town making it a busy night for the O’Fallon Fire Protection District.
“It was just nonstop. I mean, we had just constant radio traffic with calls coming in. But there were times when the crews had trouble seeing the road just because of the sheer force of the wind and the rain,” Assistant Fire Chief Andy Parrish said.
Just minutes away, Luke Dofing heard a crash he really didn’t expect.
“I don't know if it was wind like the strong winds that caught the tree. I heard a loud crack, went back there and it was leaning on the power lines. And then about every five minutes you would hear a crack. Crack. And it just came down, smashed the playhouse, the fence and brought the power lines and the power pole down. It was a mess,” Dofing said.
If you have a downed power line around your house the O’Fallon Fire Protection District wants you to call them right away to secure it so no one gets hurt.
“We want to make sure that nobody's touching those lines. Make sure they're not down on fences. We got a lot of metal fences in this area. Ensure the trees didn't fall down and maybe a wire got trapped underneath there that they didn't see,” Parrish said.
Dofing said the power service lines were even ripped out of his house and he has no idea when it’s going to be fixed.
“Having a generator that makes it nice. Have a couple of fans rolling inside and the fridge works. Freezer works. That makes a difference,” Dofing said.
The City of O'Fallon has more information on yard waste cleanup here.
For assistance, the City of O’Fallon asks residents to call Environmental Services at 636-272-0477 and leave a message. Residents can also reach out to Citizens First at 636-379-5553.
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