At least 1 injured, buildings damaged in Rusk County as storms sweep through

RUSK COUNTY, Texas (KLTV) - The Rusk County Office of Emergency Management is responding to reports of damage in the county after storms moved through on Thursday.

According to Michael Searcy with Rusk County OEM, there are lots of trees down and also reports of debris falling from the sky between Henderson and Tatum.

He said emergency crews are responding to some calls that sound very serious. At 5:30 p.m. Searcy confirmed one serious injury on CR 262. This was not within the two RV parks that experienced serious damage.

At 2:40 p.m., the OEM Facebook page stated there was damage reported in Mount Enterprise around Whispering Pines RV Park.

Rusk County Sheriff Johnwayne Valdez said most of the damage in the county is south of the Dirgin community. He said the damage seems to run parallel to State Highway 43 on the east side of the highway. Valdez said there are a lot of downed trees, but they haven’t gotten any reports of damaged buildings yet. There are no reports of injuries either, Valdez said. He said his deputies can’t get down some roads to check on people because the roads are blocked by downed trees. He listed FM 1251, County Road 266, and CR 262.

Valdez said some cabins have overturned and some RVs have limbs through them. He said ambulances were turned away because there were no injuries.

Eastside VFD Chief Donald Reynolds said his department is responding to damage on Pine Springs RV Park on U.S. 259.

Laneville VFD Chief Samantha Cryer said there is a lot of damage to roofs on homes, carports and vehicles. She said a lot of power lines are down.

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