BOYLE COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman got a look at the extensive damage to the Danville-Boyle County Airport Tuesday afternoon.
"In some pictures, it's hard to tell the aircraft from the structure," she said while looking through a slideshow of the tornado damage.
Through photos and drone video, airport officials showed her how a powerful EF2 tornado destroyed 13 small planes and multiple hangars.
"The drone footage, I think, gives a pretty all-encompassing view of what a powerful storm that came through even if just for a blip in time here in Boyle County and the destruction that it did in the blink of an eye," she said.
Coleman said she was impressed that it's only been 10 days since the storm hit because cleanup has happened at an incredibly rapid pace.
The piles of twisted metal that were once hangars have been hauled off. Most of the destroyed planes are gone too. All that is left are a few concrete pads where the hangars once stood.
"The fact that this much progress has already been made in terms of cleanup is remarkable," she said.
Operations Manager Nick Barker said a lot of credit goes to the local construction company Doss & Horky, which has worked day in and day out.
"It's almost like a bad dream but we're here and it's definitely pepping up our spirits a little bit and we're excited to move on and start planning for the future," Barker said.
He said he hopes that the future includes some FEMA money. Coleman says the Governor's Office has requested that the county be designated as a disaster area so they can get some federal support.
In all, five tornadoes touched down in Boyle County. Four were EF1 tornadoes and the one at the Boyle-Danville County Airport was confirmed as an EF2 tornado, according to Judge-Executive Howard Hunt.
