Confirmed Tornado Causes Significant Damage to Lindale

LINDALE – Lindale Mayor Robert Nelson has issued a Declaration of Disaster for the city following a tornado. Around 3:30 Saturday afternoon the EF-2 tornado touched down near the Woodlands area of Lindale. A second possible tornado was reported in the area of Farm Road 2710 and Stacy Road. No injuries were reported. Mayor Nelson said that preliminary estimates indicate six to eight homes with major damage, with another 30 to 35 with lesser damage. Motorists are asked to avoid the area. The Lindale school district reports their agriculture barn had some slight damage but all of the district’s other buildings were not damaged.

The Smith County Fire Marshal and Lindale Fire Chief and Lindale Chief of Police were on the scene to assess the damages, according to KETK.

“Four or maybe five homes sustained really major damage in a neighborhood of 35 to 40 that sustained some other damage ranging from structural damage, to lost shingles,” says Lindale Fire Chief Jerry Garner.

Support from the community was immediate.

‘We were here ’til about 2 o clock in the morning tarping all the houses on the other neighborhood,” says Paul Johnson of Cable’s Roofing and Construction. “There was too much debris in this neighborhood for us, the police wouldn’t let us in.”

Neighbors were also working together to clear trees that had fallen onto their homes and property.
American Red Cross was also in the area conducting their own assessment. The fire chief held a second news conference at 4 pm Sunday where he announced they will begin debris clean-up Monday morning. Lindale Mayor Robert Nelson asked for prayers for the community as it begins to rebuild.