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Prairie Grove community recovers after Thursday morning tornado

A reported EF-1 tornado left significant damage in Prairie Grove. With the help from their neighbors and the city, residents say all debris is nearly cleaned up.

PRAIRIE GROVE, Ark. — After an early morning tornado caused damage across Prairie Grove, a few residents said they were grateful for their community and even more grateful that things weren't worse. 

Jennifer and Andrew Capshaw woke up to the alarming sound of a tornado warning on Oct. 31. 

"We have a storm shelter in the back, but it was so quick that we just dove into the closet under the stairs, and then it was over," Andrew said.

The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-1 tornado with winds up to 100mph hit Prairie Grove.

While the storm came and went quickly, it left behind some significant damage

"The garage and carport were gone, so that was a surprise to us," Andrew said. 

With help from their neighbors, the Capshaws spent hours cleaning what they could from their front yard.

"We live in a great place," Andrew said. "We had neighbors here helping us. I mean, just people walking down the street. One young man stayed home from school today, so he could help his neighbors. The city's already cleaned up all the brush." 

The city of Prairie Grove has worked tirelessly all Thursday to get the storm debris cleaned up. Now, most of the damage is gone. 

"We've had storms like this a few times where they weren't tornadoes, but there was lots of tree damage and minor wind damage," Andrew said. In this town... those guys are here. They clean up all the tree mess and it's been really nice."

The Capshaws said their next step will be to file claims with their insurance.

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