L

Lori Farrar Cothren and Anthony Cothren, owners of Farrar Tire Center in Fayetteville, spent more than 15 hours Saturday pushing shattered glass in piles and clearing debris from their Main Avenue South location. Despite the property damage left by an EF-2 tornado that damaged about four miles of city terrain including homes and businesses, Lori summed up the destruction in two words, “We’re thankful.” She said buildings can be rebuilt, but lives cannot be replaced. Anthony said if anyone would have been in the building at the time the tornado went over the Goodyear tire shop, they would have been hurt. “We are thankful,” he said.

Today, it’s business as usual for the Cothrens. They spent most of Saturday preparing to reopen by Monday morning. “We have bills we have to pay,” said Anthony about the local business that’s been serving Lincoln County since 1974.

The Cothrens weren’t the only business owners affected by the radar-indicated tornado that started at 11:59 p.m. Friday and ended at 12:05 a.m. while leaving damage in its path. Other Fayetteville business owners and homeowners were also busy with cleanup on Saturday. 

Theressa Cheeves, owner of T&L Roofing on Lincoln Avenue, and her family and staff were out early Saturday morning cleaning up at their business as well. They were worried about their next-door neighbors, whose home was heavily damaged. 

Direct Coil USA, a Fayetteville industry in the former Daikin-Goodman building, had a warehouse destroyed and other damage near the Lincoln County Fairgrounds. They were among many others cleaning up.

Mike McAlister, an auctioneer with J. Paul Richardson & Son, was at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds when the tornado came over the area.

McAlister said he had been asleep in his truck when the tornado warning alert on his phone awoke him. By the time he saw the alert, he said the truck started shaking and he realized he was under “tremendous winds.” He said everything went “dead silent” and he was unsure if he was going to take a “direct hit.” By the time McAlister made his way out of the truck and to the basement of the Creative Living building, it was over.

“He got lucky,” said Paul Richardson. Though the auction was still held Saturday, Richardson said if the tornado had been about 100 yards south of the Fairgrounds’ Commercial Exhibit building where the auction took place, the sale wouldn’t have happened.

At the Fairgrounds, horse barns and outdoor sheds were destroyed, metal roofing rolled on the food vendor side of the grandstand, and a large horse trailer rolled approximately 80 yards before sitting upright on its wheels. Lincoln County Fair Executive Board President Dale Kent, who also owns a heavily damaged warehouse nearby, and other Fair board members were out working and surveying damage early Saturday morning.

Kent said the “significant damage” will not disrupt Lincoln County Fair’s spring event, which includes a truck and tractor pull and demolition derby in May.

“We were fortunate that no one or animals were hurt as a result of the tornado,” Kent said.

Approximately four miles away from the fairgrounds, Lincoln Health’s staff were also in action after Lincoln Medical Center was damaged.

“We had damage at the hospital and our community showed up to help,” hospital officials said, confirming all patients, visitors and staff members were “safe.”

Administration praised Lincoln Medical staff who kept patients and visitors calm and safe during the tornado which caused “moderate damage” to the facility. 

Roofs of residential homes and outbuildings inside and outside the tornado’s path also sustained damage. Trees were broken, twisted and uprooted. The exact number of homes affected by the storms and locations will be available in the coming days.

Emergency responders and Fayetteville Public Utilities’ crews were the first on the scene in the early morning hours. FPU’s CEO and General Manager Britt Dye said after the storm rolled through, more than 1,500 customers lost power, including Lincoln Medical Center. The bulk of the outages were restored on Saturday, according to Dye.

Dye said there were seven broken power poles due to the tornado, and some were steel poles. He also reminded residents if they see downed power lines to keep their distance.

Kevin Owens, Fayetteville’s city administrator, was thankful there were no known injuries or fatalities as a result of the storm. Many properties and roads were impacted mostly to the immediate southwest of the square, fairgrounds and around the hospital campus, he said Saturday morning.

“We are thankful that the city’s police, fire and public works are working in partnership with Fayetteville Public Utilities, Lincoln County and others to return the community back to normal as soon as possible,” Owens said.

He reminded the community to be respectful of businesses and property owners impacted by the storm as they were cleaning, securing and restoring utilities at their properties.

Fayetteville Mayor Donna Hartman said she is proud of all the city and county departments. “They responded immediately and worked together in a time of emergency,” she said.

Hartman said officials need to work better on the communication aspect of Friday night and early Saturday morning storms. “Thank God the damage was not worse. There were no physical injuries nor deaths.”

Lincoln County Emergency Management Director and Fire Chief Doug Campbell asked residents and business owners to report property damage to the EMA. Campbell said call 931-438-1575 or email ema@lincolncountytn.com and leave a name, address and what was damaged in short version, and he would get back to them as soon as possible.

Several residents questioned why outdoor tornado sirens did not sound at their location. Campbell said the EMA was checking with the NWS and the siren company and explained that sirens are only set to sound within the warning polygon, which is a shape tracking a possible tornado and set by the National Weather Service. The entire county would not have received a siren warning, according to Campbell. He said based on the timeframe, when the storm was recognized by the NWS, a warning was issued and it was over in just a few moments.

“The sirens have to receive a signal from the NWS. This happened so fast, the ‘threat’ was over almost as quick as it started,” Campbell said. “We are working with NWS and the siren company to make sure any available warning is sent, and we appreciate everyone’s understanding.”

Lincoln County residents are also reminded not to rely solely on outdoor sirens in the event of severe weather. Officials said they are designed for outdoor warnings only and are not designed to wake you up. Whether it’s a weather radio, an app on your phone, or Lincoln County’s Hyper-Reach system, residents need another system in place to receive warnings. Hyper-Reach, a telephone-based mass notification system, helps warn citizens about local emergencies, hazards and other threats. Hyper-Reach is designed specifically for public safety and provides rapid notification of hazardous and urgent situations using a mix of telephone calls, text and email messages, and even TTY/TDD service for the hearing impaired. Residents and people who work in Lincoln County are encouraged to enroll now either by calling or texting “Alert” to 931-240-2682 or by going to the website http://hyper-reach.com/tnlincolnsignup.html.

The NWS in Huntsville surveyed damage with the help of the Lincoln County EMA on Saturday. According to the NWS preliminary report, the EF-2 tornado, which started at 11:59 p.m. Friday and lasted until 12:05 a.m. Saturday, had estimated peak winds of 118 mph and traveled a path 3.9619 miles long and 300 yards wide. There were no injuries and no fatalities, the NWS said.

The NWS storm survey team said the tornado formed on Amana Avenue and tracked due east to the fairgrounds. The tornado then tracked east toward Hedgemont Avenue and crossed Main Avenue before crossing U.S. 231 near Lincoln Medical Center where power poles were snapped, debris collided with the front of the building and several cars were lifted and had their windows blown out, the NWS said. The tornado then went through open fields and wooded areas where numerous trees were snapped and uprooted, according to the NWS. The storm survey team said the tornado lifted just west of Winchester Highway.

After the tornado moved through, people across Lincoln County sprang into action.

Jedidah English, owner of Fayetteville Lumber & Supply, and his dad, Buddy English, opened their business — hours earlier than normal — Saturday morning so residents and business owners could get supplies. The supply store was busy throughout the early morning hours as patrons walked in and out. Many talked about damage sustained at their properties and worked to gather needed lumber and other items to secure businesses and homes. 

Other businesses such as Marvin’s Family Restaurant and Rick’s Barbecue provided meals to emergency responders and FPU crew members while Java Road provided coffee and muffins to linemen and police officers.

Too many businesses and residents to name from across Lincoln County and beyond offered support and help.

By late Saturday, a lot of the debris had been removed and power was restored so residents and business owners could prepare for the upcoming week. People from across the county, praised the work of all involved and thanked all those who pulled on their boots and put on their gloves to start the recovery process.

“It’s what we felt we needed to do,” English said about opening his doors.

“A lumber company opening in the middle of the night. Utility and city workers restoring power and clearing debris in the rain and through the night. A local coffee shop delivering coffee and muffins to linemen and police officers. Businesses checking on and helping other businesses and neighbors,” said Fayetteville Main Street Executive Director Aimee Byrd. “That’s our town.”

“This is Fayetteville,” said Mayor Hartman. “We take care of each other.”