Thousands without power, homes damaged and family trapped in storm shelter after severe weather hits Bonham

Sunday's severe weather impacted several cities across North Texas, including Bonham, which is about 66 miles northeast of Dallas. The fierce wind toppled over trees and power lines, leading to thousands of power outages.

On Monday, the city said it was still assessing the damage, but said the central and eastern parts of the community saw the most damage. The city manager, Sean Pate, said they believe winds reached at least 90 miles per hour.

"This is probably the worst since I've been here, I've been here about 10 years now," said Pate about the damage.

Some in town believe a tornado hit, but the National Weather Service will ultimately assess the damage on the ground to determine what exactly happened.

"Frightening, I've never been that scared before in my life," said Bettye Mathews, who rode the storm out in her cellar.

Matthews said her adult son and a family friend ran into the storm shelter after outdoor warning sirens were activated.

"Trees started falling on our storm cellar and it was frightening," said her son, Kevin.

The family was trapped and had to call 9-1-1 for help and were rescued by firefighters.

"A friend of ours was down there with us trying to keep to calm me down. I was nervous, but we made it," said Matthews. "I feel like the trees falling on my cellar was God protecting us, holding us in that cellar, so who knows?"

Next door, their neighbors contracted a crew with a crane to remove a large tree that fell on a home, which is actually a wealth management company.

"Pretty bad storm last night, somewhere around 90 – 100 mph came through and pushed over an old tree," said Nathan Hale, with Raymond James, the owner of the property.

“It’s a historical building, it means a lot to my family, I’m the second generation in this business, and we’ve been a part of this community for over 30 years. So it hurts to see the building, but then you realize it’s just a building and nobody got hurt," said Hale. "Years and years ago, this house was owned by the county judge and there's a picture of Sam Rayburn having tea in the backyard.”

Across the city, Pate said Oncor employees were working around the clock to restore power to nearly 3,000 residents. They hope to have the power back on by Tuesday.

As people clean up their properties, the city is asking anyone who sees a downed power line to call 903-421-2770 to report it to Oncor.

"We’ll get through this but it will take a little bit of time," said Pate. "We’re lucky things didn’t get worse as they certainly could have been.”

Resident Martha Mayrell had windows open to let in air after downed trees around her home took out some power lines.

"I got to bed, I thought, 'No, I better get up and watch the weather,' so I got an alert on my phone and so I got in the bathroom," said Mayrell. "I heard this loud boom in the back of the house and I guess it was the tree; it fell, I didn’t know what it was, it sounded like if the whole back of the house had fallen off or something."

The home she lives in is a rental home broken up into three parts. She went to check on her neighbor who is 90 years old.

"I ran over there to see about Oliver, he’s 90 years old, had to see about him. It was scary, it was scary but everything is going to be OK and it could have been worse," said Mayrell, who became emotional. "I’m sure we’re not the only one in Bonham that had damage."

Pate said the Forestry Service, along with city crew,s spent the day clearing trees, shrubs and any other type of debris.

Residents can drop off vegetation debris at 2040 FM 87 on Wednesday, June 11, between 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The drop-off site does not allow metal or trash. People are asked to show their license.

The city said it will have Center Street closed for the remainder of Monday as crews repair power pole and lines that were damaged.

Bonham officials are also warning neighbors about solicitors and people posing as roofers, tree trimmers, insurance adjusters, etc. The city said to ask those contractors to show their 'Official City of Bonham solicitor's badge.'

"They must be registered with the permits department. If they cannot show you a solicitor's permit or badge, please direct them to City Hall," reads advice from a city statement.

Volunteers and local businesses have also stepped up to the plate to help neighbors.

The City of Bonham said Brookshire's is supplying free ice and a free meal in the parking lot at 2228 Island Bayou Road until supplies last. It will continue on Tuesday, starting at noon.

The city said the Texas Division of Emergency Management, Fannin County Office of Emergency Management, Texas Forest Service, Minute Man Disaster Response, American Red Cross, Texas on a Mission, Christian Disaster Relief, Southern Baptist of Texas, ONCOR, Brookshire's, Hammett Excavation and Hope Concrete have helped in the immediate aid.

If other groups or businesses want to volunteer or help with the cleanup, the city is asking them to go to the Downtown Fire Station at 220 E. 5th Street to register with the Fannin County Emergency Coordinator.

People here are strong, and you can build back buildings, nobody was hurt, so it’s going to be alright," said Hale. "We’ll build it back and it will be better than it was before.”