'That's Just What We Do': Weatherford Residents Help With Cleanup After Storm

Another round of thunderstorms came barreling through the state Saturday night, hitting Weatherford hard.

"You can feel your house shaking," said Kale Sawatzcky, who lives in Weatherford. “Just pouring rain. Really high winds."

Those winds were unforgiving, knocking down the oak tree in Kale’s grandfathers yard.

"Beautiful oak tree... Probably 40 or 50 feet tall," he said. "Just uprooted, totally. You'd never think it would do that."

His grandfather’s yard was filled with friends and family Sunday morning, all ready to clean up.

"He was about to climb up the tree and I said no I’ve got it I’ll take care of it," said Kale.

He and the rest of the crew wasted no time.

"We just started cutting limbs off little by little,” he said. “It's doing pretty good, we're almost there. We're at the final few stages."

While neighbors help each other clear debris outside their homes, city officials are focused on getting the lights back on inside.

"We've got a significant number of pole and lines that are down," said Weatherford fire chief Mike Karlin.

“We focused on getting the roadways open trying to get access in for the power companies so they can begin their restoration."

He said that work is well underway.

"They've got a lot of town back on but they’re still working to get the other parts," he said. “There are going be a lot of residents who are without power for quite some time."

But Chief Karlin is sure Weatherford will bounce back quick.

"Absolutely," he said.

And according to Chief Karlin, families like Kale’s are the norm in his town.

"It's a great place to live, you know,” he said. “You see your neighbors helping neighbors. That's just what we do"

"Definitely a family-first community," said Kale. “That's really awesome about this town."