CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) - On the heels of the hottest temperatures in Kentucky in nearly six years, severe thunderstorms erupted across the state Thursday night. Places like Campbellsville got hit the worst.
The storms came fast and left quickly, but the damage left behind will stick around a bit longer.
"Within a matter of 30-45 seconds, it just hit so hard,” neighbor Gary Beard said. "It was probably a five to ten minute total time. I mean, it was pretty scary.”
Thursday night's storms lit up the Taylor County skies and its emergency phone lines.
"We started getting calls about 7:12. We probably responded to 30 emergency calls, but the 911 center probably received a couple hundred calls of people reporting downed lines and stuff like that. It all worked out, and everybody did a good job,” Campbellsville Fire Department Chief Chris Taylor said.
The town is covered with tree debris and downed power lines. Many were left in the dark overnight.
"We were worried about losing everything, so we had to spend extra money to go get a hotel room for the kids to stay in because they have to have power and something to eat and water,” Beard said.
The lights are back on for most, but the clean-up in Campbellsville continues for homes and businesses alike, including an Amazon fulfillment center.
"They had about 8-10 air conditioning units that were blown off. We had a natural gas line on the roof that was leaking there,” Taylor said.
Officials were most worried about a 30,000 gallon propane tank that a shed toppled over. Luckily, there were no explosions and no injuries anywhere.
Neighbor Wayne Wells had several trees knocked down in his front yard.
"We saw on WHAS the weather coming through. We were watching, and it said go to the basement, and then this all happened. I've got a guy coming to clean it up,” Wells said.
Wells spent the day picking up sticks, trying to help and add a positive perspective to it all.
“Five years ago, a tree came through our house and did $67,000 worth of damage so we're fortunate this year not to have any more damage than what we've got,” Wells said.
The damage sure made its mark, but both Wells and Taylor said their town's spirit can weather any storm.
"Everybody in Campbellsville is coming together, and they're getting things picked up and back to normal. That's why Campbellsville is great,” Wells said.
"We probably responded to 30 emergency calls, but the 911 center probably received a couple hundred calls of people reporting downed lines and stuff like that. It all worked out, and everybody did a good job,” Taylor said.