LAKE CITY, Fla. -- About 65-mph winds tore through Columbia County on Tuesday morning, smashing multiple trees into homes. Three families were forced to find somewhere else to sleep.
"I wanted to sit down and cry," said homeowner Shirley Bennett, whose home was a total loss after a tree crashed through her living room. "My first reaction was to hope everybody is safe."
Bennett says one of her tenants was sleeping when the massive tree fell on her home.
"She was awakened by a horrible crash," she said. "She just went hysterical and my phone rang and they said 'we have an emergency over here'."
Cleanup is under way as families start to pick up the pieces.
"It's not just a property, it's not just having to deal with debris, it's memories, it's personal items. It's somebody's mental health. It's a lot for anybody to take," said Casey Schmelz with the Red Cross.
Most people affected by the storm have been put up in local hotels by the Red Cross.
