LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A family in Hikes Point is one of hundreds of families around Louisville recovering after severe weather last Friday.
Gina and Chuck Priddy have lived at their home near Taylorsville Road since 2007. There were two large trees standing in their front yard when the couple left for a fish fry on Friday evening.
While volunteering at their church's fish fry, the couple was called by a neighbor saying they had to come home because a tree had fallen on their house. The neighborhood sent photos showing the devastation.
Damage at a home in Hikes Point neighborhood in Louisville, Ky.
"That's not my house. It doesn't look anything like my house," Gina said.
When they arrived, their home was no longer recognizable.
"It's very much a shock, you process these things in stages," Chuck said.
In the midst of the damage, neighbors came to their aid.
"We haven't had any issues like this happen to us, but when we had the wind storm in 2008 the people in the neighborhood came out and started helping each other," Gina said. "We love our neighborhood."
Although the home was seemingly unapproachable, the family's dog was okay, a little bit shaken up.
The storm came exactly a year after the couple renovated their kitchen and dining room. The renovated spaces weren't impacted, but some things in the front of the home were destroyed.
"Neighbors just all came out with chainsaws and just pitched right in," McCune said.
Donna McCune lives across the street.
"I looked over at Gina checks and thought, oh my gosh, I thought it hit our roof and it was that loud. It was incredible. It was that loud," McCune said.
The home built in 1952 has substantial roof damage. Chuck believes there could be foundation damage too.
"As of right now we don't think there is any internal damage, but it's hard to tell because once they started taking the tree off the roof, things started cracking and crumbling," Gina said. "It's the initial clean up, 'how do you do this type thing.'"
While items can be replaced, the support of neighbors around the home was irreplaceable.
Damage at a home in Hikes Point neighborhood in Louisville, Ky.
"Having that assurance and affirmation from someone was wonderful," Gina said.
After contacting their insurance agent on Friday evening, a tree removal service arrived on Saturday morning. Before cranes could be pulled into the driveway, neighbors used chainsaws to clear the brush to make way for the workers.
"Our neighborhood really comes together in times of crisis," Chuck said. "It was really a group effort and a neighborhood coming together."
Electrical power returned to the neighborhood on Sunday. The storm knocked out their power, along with nearly 300,000 other homes in Kentucky.
"There were people in the parish that were impacted by the storm, it's amazing how widespread the devastation was," Chuck said.
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