People are still without electricity in Elmendorf after Tuesday’s intense storm knocked out power to half the city. Crews worked throughout the day to restore power, pick up downed trees, and make sure everyone is safe.
A command center is set up outside Elmendorf City Hall to help any residents still needing assistance.
As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, only 11 residents in Elmendorf were without power.
"We decided to bring out our mobile command unit because it was deemed that the damage was much more extensive than we originally thought, much more extensive than just downed trees," said Monica Ramos, public information officer of Bexar County.
Crews set up a command center at Elmendorf City Hall. Firefighters even went door to door making sure everyone was safe.
"It started getting black, and it looked like funnel clouds to me," said Elmendorf resident Jeffrey Teague, who ran inside when the winds picked up on Tuesday evening. "The wind started out of nowhere. You couldn't even open the doors the wind was blowing so hard."
His wife, Paula, recorded the heavy winds and rain with her cell phone.
"It was howling. It was howling so loud," she said. "I was hiding! I had my dogs in the bathroom."
Bexar County Emergency Management crews arrived Wednesday morning to begin damage assessments, trying to figure out how many downed trees and damaged roofs the storm left behind.
"It downed a lot of power lines, power poles," Ramos said. "It was able to lift shingles and portions of roofs off structures, and it downed a whole lot of trees."
The storm ripped light poles from concrete foundations and twisted the sign at the Tex Best off 1604 and 181.
"We put all the skirting [to the house] back up, but all of it was gone. It ripped the insulation out," Teague noted. "The boards caved in up there and [the storm] buckled the roof. I thought it was gonna stop and it just kept coming, kept coming."
The entire roof peeled off a home on Donop Road. The house is a total loss after rains drenched the interior.
"What I saw, I have never seen anything like it," said Angel Avitia, and Elmendorf resident of 35 years whose yard is covered in downed trees.
He says he looked out the window when the rains got worse.
"[I saw] a lot of water just coming down, hail, strong winds. Very strong winds," he said.
Avitia's chairs and BBQ pit were also scattered throughout the yard.
"There's a big [tree] right behind my chicken coop," Avitia said. "There's a big tree that fell over, too."
The American Red Cross and emergency crews were on standby throughout the night at the command center.
No injuries were reported.
"People who are on medical equipment, if they needed assistance with oxygen or ventilators or anything like that, Acadian ambulances were standing by," Ramos said.
Elmendorf residents are encouraged to take their debris to the city dump. Fees have been waived through the weekend.
For other residents in unincorporated Bexar County, a brush debris pickup plan is underway. It should roll out within the next couple of days.