Lexington crews help with storm recovery in Western Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Lexington crews have been on the ground across Western Kentucky for a week now.

“Some corners in downtown Mayfield are gone. It’s not that there’s a little bit of damage, or that it’s sporadic. It’s wiped out,” said Matt Daley with Emergency Disaster Services.

Matt Daley with Emergency Disaster Services said their crews set up base camps to feed and house utility workers.

They’re currently partnering with the non-profit Operation Barbecue Relief to feed people displaced by the storm.

Daley said everyone from county crews to individuals and local groups have been working non-stop to remove debris, but he said utility crews will be working to restore the power for weeks to months to come.

“The transmission substations are so mangled and obliterated, that even though they’re servicing a smaller population, than say in a gulf state when a hurricane hits. It’s going to a long time to rebuild those. It’s not replacing items or repairing items, it is completely installing an entirely new structure,” Daley said.

Daley said they just delivered another $8,000 worth of groceries to Operation Barbecue Relief. He also said he’s seen federal, state and local agencies respond quickly. From county crews to groups like Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief, removing debris and feeding people who are displaced.

“We pray with them, we cry with them, we hear their stories. Many of them miraculously survived the tornado, when you look at what happened, probably should not have,” said Ron Crow with the Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief.

On top of the physical work, Ron Crow’s team with the Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief offer spiritual and emotional help through their chaplains on the ground. They listen and pray with survivors, with families who have lost everything and with the first responders and volunteers working around the clock.

“Every evening we gather for our meal. We have a time of singing and devotion. We then share what we call the wow stories. What we’ve seen. Some of those are funny, some are amazing, some of those are God moments, and some of those make us all cry.”

And each and every story keep those in Western Kentucky going.

Daley and Crow both want to stress the importance of monetary donations right now.

You can find ways that you can donate at the link here.

Copyright 2021 WKYT. All rights reserved.