Hillsville locals awaken to scenes of devastation following a powerful storm

Hillsville, Virginia – On Friday, safety personnel were working to fix any damage and clear up after Thursday’s storm in the Hillsville area.

The roar of the hurricane is something they will never forget.

“Very rarely do you ever hear it blow that hard, even for 5 minutes. I mean it did take some trees out of my neighbor’s yard here,” said resident Brent Phillips.

Living off of Old Galax Pike is Phillips.

The storm caused damage to homes, downed power lines, and uprooted trees. Many were caught off guard by the aftermath.

“When it hit, it sucked the windows shut and the doors shut, and then the power went out just in an absolute second,” said Phillips.

Since the storm’s beginning, emergency personnel have been removing debris and evaluating damage nonstop.

“Calls for service started coming, so out we initially cleared the area around the farmers’ market-58 intersection and then started working our way here now, which is Old Galax Pike,” said Gary Bergeron, chief of Carroll County Fire Rescue & Emergency Management.

Whether or not the storm was a tornado or a microburst is still being determined by the magnitude of the devastation.

“What we are doing this morning in the daylight is following up with some better pictures of storm damage so that the weather service can better make that determination,” explained Bergeron.

A microburst is a brief, concentrated windstorm that has the potential to do a great deal of damage.

“All of a sudden it come a big whoosh!” said Phillips.