Texans on Mission aid hurricane recovery across multiple states
NORTH TEXAS – Hundreds of Texans are helping with hurricane recovery in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida.
More than 250 of them were dispatched with Texans on Mission.
"Some of the towns up in the mountain are gone because the trees that fell wiped them out," said Wendell Romans.
Romans, the chainsaw coordinator with Texans on Mission, just returned home to Texas after helping with Hurricane Helene's recovery in North Carolina and Tennessee.
"They're very devastated. I don't think they will ever recover. Parts of Tennessee will never recover. Of all the disasters I've been to in the twelve years I've been doing this, this is probably the worst one," he said.
He's just one of hundreds of people from DFW dispatched to disaster areas with Texans on Mission.
He runs the chainsaw unit. They go door to door, removing trees and debris for free.
"When they finally get it, they cry, and generally I cry with 'em. I've got a soft heart, and that's what we do," said Romans.
Romans is hopeful people will find ways to rebuild after the destruction, but he thinks they'll have to find somewhere new.
"They will rebuild. It will probably be in a different location, I'd guess, because there's so much devastation where they were," he said.
Texans on Mission are still deployed in all three states. If Romans gets a call, he'll head to Florida to help with the recovery from Hurricane Milton. But he's hoping to get at least a little bit of rest.
"I'm ready for some time off and my wife is ready to have me home. The dog didn't bite me when I came in, so I guess that's a good start," said Romans.