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Clean up begins in Jefferson County after powerful storm leaves a path of destruction

storm tears through Jefferson County
Posted at 10:42 AM, Jul 29, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-29 19:28:19-04

As cleanup begins in Jefferson County, daylight is revealing what was left behind by thunderous and fast-moving storms overnight.

The National Weather Service says two crews are examining damage. They'll determine if what moved through the area was in fact a tornado.

Trees snapped in half, some falling onto cars and homes, downed street signs and power lines, and homes destroyed are what many residents woke up to Thursday.

"It's devastating. There's a lot of stuff here," said Terry Decicco of Concord.

In that area, along County Highway F, just south of Interstate I-94, white insulation is scattered across the grass after near hurricane-force winds ripped the roof off of a nearby shed at Lake Country Heating and Cooling, a local business.

Business owner Wade Wilson said he was happy nobody was hurt.

"The roof got tore off, and there’s just some damage inside, not much but, it could have been a lot worse," said Wilson.

Today, with the mess left behind, there's one big question:

"Who’s going to clean it all up," asked Decicco.

Jason Stamper is the highway foreman in the Town of Concord. He was ready to get to work shortly after the storm rolled through.

"Everywhere I went, roads were blocked, wires were down, barely even made it up the road," he said.

He worked through the overnight hours and says he and his team won't be resting any time soon.

"We’re going to be busy. Chopping trees. All the roads, fortunately, are open where people can get around - emergency vehicles - so that’s pretty good but, were going to be busy, busy guys coming up."

There were not any reports of any injuries in the area overnight but clean-up is likely going to take days.

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