1,000 volunteers help Clarksville residents clean up after tornado damages hundreds of homes

As a senior career counselor at Fort Campbell, Dustin Arnold has a literal army behind him, and on Monday, that army was helping him salvage and pack what belongings he could after his home was destroyed by the EF-3 tornado that stormed through Clarksville Saturday.

Cleanup efforts like Arnold's were organizing across the city two days after deadly storms swept through Middle Tennessee. The tornado that ravaged North Clarksville, killing three, displacing hundreds and leaving several thousand without power cut a 43-mile-long path through three counties in Tennessee and Kentucky.

Other hard-hit counties in Tennessee included Davidson, where three more people died, Robertson and Sumner, but damages were also reported in nearby Cheatham and Dickson Counties.

At Fort Campbell, where Arnold's been stationed in the combat aviation brigade since 2019, almost 100 soldiers had families displaced due to the storms, installation spokesperson Dawn Grimes said.

Arnold considered himself one of the lucky ones Monday.

"I've found a rental, and (I'm) moving in that direction, salvaging what we can out of the home, and I'm pretty blessed to have the army community around me," he said.

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Elsewhere in north Clarksville, Roosevelt Boozeman was facing similar challenges.

In a flash, Boozeman's home on Cabana Drive was torn to pieces as the tornado charged through Saturday, blowing off the roof, shattering windows and impaling walls with 2x4 planks.

Some of the home remains intact, but the majority of it was left in shambles, and, to make matters worse, Boozeman's three cars are either destroyed or trapped in his garage, leaving him stranded and on the hunt for a rental car.

"I think it's going to be about a year, personally, because we talked to a couple of people who've been through this situation before. Right now, we have the ball rolling," Boozeman said.

He's determined to rebuild no matter how long it takes, but right now, he and his family are searching for a temporary home.

Volunteers swarm to help tornado victims

Between 500 and 1,000 people, including local contractors, have volunteered to help clean up debris, allowing agencies to restore power, according to the city of Clarksville, which has helped to coordinate clean-up efforts along with Mosaic Church.

Volunteers poured into a relief staging area Monday at the church, 1020 Garrettsburg Rd., near the most affected parts of north Clarksville.

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Down the street, the path of destruction was visible. Almost every home appears to have suffered damage on Garrettsburg Road. Some escaped with minor issues while others were demolished.

By 10 a.m. Monday, the line of volunteers waiting to enter the Mosaic Church parking lot was backed up 25 cars-deep into the street.

Buses stopped in front of the church, and dozens of people took turns stepping on and off, holding their water and work gloves.

Officials in Montgomery County have determined that more than 900 residential sites were hit by tornado, giving the volunteers plenty of work to tackle.

Hundreds of people were walking around Monday carrying supplies, making plates and directing volunteers to the right location.

There has been nothing but movement at Mosaic Church since Saturday night, Next Gen Pastor Aron Maberry said.“We’ve had well over 1,000 volunteers,” he said Monday. “Some are signing up and others are just coming. We’ve had some already signed up for tomorrow.”The volunteers aren’t just going out to clean up storm damage. They're also distributing donations to storm survivors.Water, food, clothes, diapers, formula, shoes, blankets and cleaning supplies fill an entire room of the church, donated by people and businesses. Toy donations are coming in for affected children as well, organizers said."As long as they’re willing to keep sending us buses, and there’s a need, we’re going to be here to help out,” Maberry said.

The outpouring of donations forced Mosaic to redirect some items to alternate sites such as West Creek, Northeast High School and LifePoint.

On Monday alone, 15,000 meals were given out and people were happily leaving with the necessities they needed.

“I am overwhelmed with gratitude to be honest,” Mosaic Church Pastor Anthony Daley said.

“Someone asked me if I were told Saturday morning we’d have half a million dollars of supplies and over a thousand volunteers here Monday morning, what I would say. I would’ve said they were crazy, but just look around now.”

Christine Johnson greeted people at the church.

She has been volunteering since Saturday night, making sure coffee and hot chocolate are ready and waiting for whoever walks through the door, gaining the nickname “The Coffee Ministry”.

“You hear so much negativity about Clarksville, but look at all these amazing people coming to help,” Johnson said. “Seeing so many people who have come in here and are just emotional has been a reward.

"They’re smiling and some have tears as they leave with their totes of things they need.”

Volunteer Eric Ware, who lost his house during the storm, has spent his time cleaning up for others.

“Sitting back at home wasn’t going to do anything, so I had the initiative to come and serve,” said Ware, who cleaned debris from special items salvaged from the storm.

Family photos, mementos and a graduation gown sat in a pile, ready for the rightful owner to reclaim.

“It’s devastating seeing people’s lives are just gone," Ware said. "Even getting their stuff back, their lives are changed forever because of this.”

Fort Campbell soldier James Scott stepped off the church volunteer shuttle bus with a smile and work gloves in hand after spending five hours helping to clear rubble left behind from the storm.

“I feel bad, honestly,” he said. “The storm changed people’s lives forever, and I wanted to do what I could. You’re not seeing people saying ‘it has nothing to do with me, so I’m not worried about it. I was out here with so many people today just cleaning up."

Volunteer Jonathan Anglin showed up at the church with his truck at 8 a.m. and worked all day.

“It was like a thousand little ants working,” Anglin said. “At one point a couple of us just stopped to watch them coming and going like a colony.”

Streets being cleared, an ongoing effort

Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency Director Ed Baggett said cleanup crews have run into challenges with traffic as well as the flood of volunteers staging along the streets attempting to clean up debris and rubble.

About 115 homes were destroyed, more than 200 homes have major damage and more than 100 have sustained minor damage, Baggett said. He noted that any volunteers should meet at Mosaic Church to stage and be bused into impacted subdivisions, rather than attempting to go on their own.

Between the hundreds of volunteers sawing trees, finding debris and moving everything to the streets for pickup, clean-up efforts on the ground were wrapped up earlier than expected.

A statement was released Monday afternoon, pausing volunteer clean-up efforts so county, city and private haulers could catch up.

“Clarksville, Montgomery County showed up big time to clean up debris for their neighbors,” the release said.

Fort Campbell soldiers displaced by tornado

While the Fort Campbell military installation was left unscathed by the tornado, soldiers and families still felt its devastating impact.

Ninety-seven families stationed at Fort Campbell and living in the Clarksville area lost their homes or power, Grimes said.

The installation faced challenges accounting for the almost 200,000 soldiers stationed there as the tornado knocked out cell towers, leaving many unable to contact their unit commanders or receive alerts.

But, everyone has been accounted for, Grimes said Monday, and no injuries were reported.

"Anyone with damage to their homes has been directed to report to their unit so that their unit can provide them with, and with them, get situated with housing that they need," Grimes said.

Due to the storm, Grimes said things have slowed down at Fort Campbell.

As cleanup efforts continue in Clarksville, Grimes said the base's commanding general is encouraging off-duty soldiers to volunteer their time and help.

Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at cshoup@gannett.com and on X @Craig_Shoup. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to www.tennessean.com.

Kenya Anderson is a reporter for The Leaf-Chronicle in Clarksville. To support her work, sign up for a digital subscription at www.theleafchronicle.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Clarksville volunteers clean up after devastating EF-3 tornado hits