OCALA, Fla. – A powerful storm ripped through Ocala Saturday afternoon, leaving a trail of damage across parts of the city.
Residents in several neighborhoods reported trees crashing into homes, power lines and roadways, causing outages for thousands. On Sunday, some people were still without electricity as crews worked to restore power.
Daysha Harris, who lives near 15th Avenue, said lightning struck a tree in her yard, sending it down and bringing power lines with it.
“It was just a lot of hail and water. I just started noticing all the branches falling, then this tree fell,” Harris said. “You can see where the lightning struck the ground.”
Harris said the outage has been especially difficult in the heat.
“It’s so hot. I know the food is about to go bad,” she said. “We’re thinking about getting a hotel room because the kids can’t be in the heat.”
Ocala Fire Rescue said the storm left downed trees, blocked roads and damage across the northeast part of the city.
Neighbors described some areas as looking like a “war zone,” with debris scattered across streets and multiple homes damaged by fallen trees.
Michelle Flanagan said a tree from a neighboring property crashed into her home, damaging her garage.
“There it is. It damaged my garage. You can see daylight through the garage,” Flanagan said. “All the insulation, everything, is down, and the wiring.”
Ocala Electric Utility said only a small number of customers remained without power Saturday night, but some outages could take longer to restore because multiple transmission poles were damaged.
News 6 reached out to Ocala Fire Rescue for more details on how many homes were damaged and which areas were hit the hardest. We’ll update this story when we hear back.