Some of the most severe damage from Saturday's storms came in the Wise County town of Bridgeport.
An exotic animal shelter is facing thousands of dollars in repairs after powerful winds leveled structures and brought down trees.
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WATCH HEREThe Center for Animal Research and Education is home to lions, tigers, and other big cats, but none of them are as scary as the storm that rolled through the center on Saturday.
“We’ve had two tornadoes here, but this was far worse than any damage we’ve had from the tornadoes we’ve had in the past,” said CARE founder Heidi Krahn.
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SIGN UP This reserve for exotic animals was slammed by straight-line winds that sent trees crashing down into enclosures.
“I can’t say they were all this calm last night because the whole roof of this enclosure blew off and that had to be terrifying for them,” Krahn said while speaking to NBC 5 by the tiger enclosure.
When the storms had passed, staff realized the biggest impact was on the home of the shelter’s smallest residents.
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“The lemurs' enclosure is gone, it’s decimated,” said Krahn. “It was much worse than I thought, it was so much worse than I thought.”
The center’s Madagascar monkeys have been moved into a temporary indoor home, and none of the animals living at CARE were hurt.
But CARE now faces a rebuilding process, the owner says feels overwhelming.
“All the work, the financial contributions that it took to build the things that now will have to be rebuilt,” said Krahn.
This nonprofit normally works for the community, teaching about animals that live far beyond the bounds of Wise County.
Now, they’re hoping their neighbors can step up with donations to help CARE keep following their mission.
“As long as the animals are safe, we’re good,” said Krahn.
Anyone wanting to support CARE can donate on the center’s website.
