VALLEY VIEW, Texas — Despite the scorching heat – Gordon Holt and his contractors spent Tuesday combing through debris, looking for anything salvageable from what’s left of his classic car restoration company Distinguished Customs.
“We had about 30 cars in the building that were being restored several split window corvettes that are pretty pricey these days. We had some Mustangs and Impalas,” Holt said.
Tuesday marked one month since a tornado tore through part of Valley View, Texas in Cooke County, including Holt’s shop. Seven people died and more than 100 people were injured when the tornado hit Memorial Day Weekend.
“It's been the ups and downs, with emotions,” Holt said. “We've been out here since the 25th and it's been a lot of work.”
By now you’ve probably seen the videos of people hiding inside a Shell gas station as it ripped apart during that storm. Distinguished Customs was located in the buildings right next door.
“There were about 135th wheels or RV's that were on this back lot that took flight and I found eight of them on top of the building,” Holt said. “Thank goodness we didn't have any of the guys in the shop working.”
Four weeks into the clean-up efforts, Holt is still navigating insurance claims, paying his employees, and keeping his shop secure.
“From 8 in the morning until 8 at night just running people off the property that are coming and trying to pick up scrap or still parts,” he said. “And then in the evenings, we've got a security company that comes out.”
It costs him about $450 a night. And it’s money that’s coming out of pocket because when disaster hits businesses, they’re not eligible for FEMA help. Instead, they must go through their insurance or take out a SBA loan.
“You hear people who have gone through these types of situations and they say there’s no help but you don’t really wrap your head around what that means,” Holt said.
Businesses and homeowners are having to navigate these challenges. Many of them, like Holt, have been turning to GoFundMe to raise funds to help.
Driving through the impacted neighborhoods, much of the debris has been collected and stacked near the roadway. But there are still many damaged homes, some crumbled beyond repair, others boarded up with tarped roofs.
“Still a long way to go, but now I hope that you know that we don't forget about these folks out here because it's going to take several months,” said Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington.
The community says through the devastation they’ve pulled together.
“I can't believe how much the people really want to help out, they really want to help out their neighbor,” said a Valley View resident. “I’m so glad I live here for that fact and they’ve just gone out there and started cleaning up and volunteering their time.”
And because of that - there’s optimism that in the end, they’ll be ok.