HEBER SPRINGS, Ark. (KTHV) – Friday night’s storms hit the Heber Springs area pretty hard, especially at a popular boat dock on Greers Ferry Lake.
Lacey’s Boating Center has over 17 docks. April 13th's storm tore through one of them, causing extensive damage that could take weeks to clean up.
“Somewhere between 9:45-10 p.m. I heard this noise and the boat started moving. Once I flipped the lights on the whole dock behind me started raising up,” Garry Odom said.
Odom was on his house boat, when the entire boat dock tore down in front of him.
"When I saw the dock coming up behind me, I thought that it was coming right at me and so I just took a step back into the door and it was over,” he said.
Other people were still on their boats when the storm hit.
"My other neighbor Frank was asleep and he didn't hear any of it,” Odom said.
Thankfully, no one was hurt. Odom rushed over to his neighbors after the dock fell on top of the boats.
"They were trapped inside their boats. What I wanted to do was check them out and make sure that they were OK,” he said.
The rest of the 17 docks at the marina remained untouched throughout the storm.
"There’s six docks in that direction. Not a single boat. Not a single nail missing from a roof,” Manager Douglas Konkle said.
Konkle said this is the first time Lacey's has ever been hit.
"Once I saw the photos start pouring in, disbelief is really what we were thinking. But we've got enough time to get back going before memorial day and the rest of the summer,” he said.
Odom said they now have to figure out how to clean up the mess.
"I'm really proud of the staff here at Lacey's because as soon as they got notified their whole team of people came and showed up,” he said.
But overall he says he is thankful because it could've been a lot worse.
"No one's hurt. No one's hurt at all. It's a miracle,” Odom said.
Konkle said insurance has to come in and assess the damage. Boat owners and rentals can still use the marina.
He said most of the damage will be cleaned up by Memorial Day.