LAKE CHARLES, La. (KLFY) — We’re here in Lake Charles, just giving you a firsthand look at the destruction and some of the damage left behind by Hurricane Laura. Bringing those 130 mile an hour winds, this nearly 60 foot pine trees blown over and this isn’t even the only tree blown over in this yard. There’s another one here and a third one just next to the driveway that crashed that car and severely damaged the home next-door. Just a couple doors down the road we interviewed the family of Mr. Leon Lewis who rode out the storm in Dallas, Texas, but when they returned home Friday morning they saw the destruction.

“We lost a lot of food in the deep freezer and in the icebox,” said Lewis. “In the back, in the bedroom the roof is down, and the kitchen is all messed up. The whole house is demolished.”

In the Terrace neighborhood, just off of Interstate 210, it looks like a war zone. Almost every home in this neighborhood that had a carport is now without one. As the people here begin to clean up and rebuild they are thankful to have a family and friends that are willing to lend a hand

“It’s a lifesaver because I don’t know what I would do without my son,” said resident Artie George. “His home had a tree go through and he can’t even go home and take care of his business because he’s over here helping me.”

“When you’ve got family behind you just feel so much better,” said resident Debra Barber. “I know my sister feels better. When she saw people coming she just started crying and I started crying, too.”

While Mr. Lewis and his family will be headed to Saint Mary Parish to stay with family, anyone who is remaining in this community will be without power, water, gas, and groceries. The Office of Emergency Preparedness in the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office says you need to be self-sustainable for the unforeseeable future, because there is no timetable for when those services will be restored.

If anyone has damage to their home, you want to be sure to capture images and get those to the insurance company so we can all try to get back to life as normal as soon as possible.