Belmont Residents Work To Clean Up Storm Damage

BELMONT, N.C.,None — Several families in Gaston County were praying Saturday that forecasted overnight storms will cause no more damage to the area.

Tree removal companies spent all day Friday and Saturday cleaning up from storms that rolled through the area Thursday. Those storms hit the Town of Belmont particularly hard.

"Enough is enough. We definitely don't want anyone to go through any heartache," said Star Burchfield of Rocky's Tree Removal Service. She said the damage from Thursday's storms was significant.

"It's very sad, it's awful down here. Bad things happen to good people," said Burchfield.

The damage couldn't have come at a worse time for Teresa Davis. She said lightening and hail caused a tree to crash onto the driveway of her Belmont home. She just lost a job and because of that her home insurance lapsed.

She will be forced to pay for repairs out of pocket.

"I'm thankful. The Lord was with me, because it could have been worse," she said.

Pastor Robert Baker of First Baptist Church of Belmont told Eyewitness News he wants storms to dry out and put an end to an already rough year.

"We have a man that lives behind the church and we cleaned up his house one week, then we cleaned it up the next week. That's the way it's been this year. It's an unusual year," said Baker.

A tree that was more than 150 years old was uprooted and fell at Baker's church Thursday. He and church members spent most of the day cleaning up the mess. However, the bulk of the cleanup won't be complete until Monday.

"I found out the bad news about the tree on Thursday night, but I still plan to share the good news about Jesus Christ on Sunday morning," said Baker.

The church will open for worship service Sunday, despite the mess out front.

WSOC