JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A couple in Jacksonville's San Jose neighborhood is picking up the pieces Thursday after damage from what they believe was a tornado spawned from Tropical Storm Elsa ravaged their home.
The front yard at the home along Old Kings Road South is littered with trees, branches, and objects from their backyard. The trees caused major damage to their home and yard.
Several trees went through the roof and left two gaping holes. The homeowners put a tarp on the roof and buckets inside to catch water.
A 60-year-old magnolia tree snapped, fell across the front yard, and then went through a truck. The truck may be a total loss, the owners said. The side window and windshield are shattered, the hood is dented in, and part of the front bumper is hanging off.
"It sounded like we had a train going over the house. It was so loud," Maria Pollard said.
Thoughts for her family's safety raced through Pollard's mind just after 5 p.m. Wednesday.
“I really thought are one of my kids going to be picked up along with that big old oak I just saw fly across my backyard?” Pollard said.
Pollard opened up her front door and couldn't believe what she saw.
"It was pretty terrifying. What I used to see before was a walkway with stone and brick," Pollard said. "The magnolia tree had collapsed like a log cut in half.”
She saw her treasured magnolia tree strewn across the yard.
“It was the first thing I’d see when I opened the door. I’d smell the sweet magnolias," Pollard said.
Several trees crashed through the roof, and now a crack lines the bathroom ceiling.
“This is one of those things you think will never happen to you," Pollard said.
The reality sets in as Pollard sees branches in her pool and toppling the fence around her chicken coop. Fallen trees surround her house.
“I feel like I’m waking up in a nightmare honestly," Pollard said. "Everything happened so fast, and it just blows my mind that it was so sudden and so violent. It knocked out something so big.”
The Pollards are getting offers from the community and churches to clean up the debris. The couple has called their insurance company, and an adjustor should come to the home soon.