Winds from severe storms damage buildings, down trees and power lines in Camden County

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A joint command post has been set up in Laurie after severe storms hit northern Camden and southern Morgan Counties on Tuesday night.

According to the Camden County Emergency Management Agency, multiple agencies are assisting in the operation.

Gravois Fire Protection District in Camden County shared on social media that there was "significant damage" across the area the district covers, specifically from Chelsie Road to the end of Highway O.

Fire district Chief Dustin Hancock said firefighters only received three 911 calls during the overnight severe weather and realized something bigger was happening.

'We're like, hey, we got a lot of trees down. This doesn't make sense to us. So we started deploying," Hancock said. "We established a second command for Highway O. The farther we went out, we just kept finding trees down across the road."

Besides downed powerlines, Hancock said crews saw damage to about 20 to 25 houses, a few docks and a couple of sheds during their searches of the area.

He said he didn't expect the level of damage he witnessed.

"I was kind of watching the trees in my backyard. I was like, oh, they're moving pretty good, let's go move the patio furniture in," Hancock said. "As we went out, just the size of the trees, the locations, and all the damage that we actually had, I really didn't expect that."

Hancock said fire crews worked until 4 a.m. Wednesday to clear roads, restore power to homes and report downed power lines and trees.

Work started again at 7 a.m.

One local tree removal company tells ABC 17 News they started receiving calls as early as 11 p.m. Tuesday evening.

"We got several to go. We've got 16 calls as well since noon," said Jimmy Wood, with Libel Street Services.

Wood and his team were out clearing fallen trees from neighborhood roads throughout the day Wednesday.

"We load the logs, safely as we can, and strap them down and haul them back to our shop. Get them out of the people's hair, so they can go back to the living and playing at the lake," Wood said.

Wood added that if people do consistent maintenance on trees around their property, their more likely to avoid damage from a tree falling.

"Get your trees treated and have them trimmed every year or as often as you can," Wood said.

Gravois Fire Protection also said multiple docks have broken ramps, damaged cables, or other structural issues. Boat drivers are asked to reduce wake while on the water today.

Hancock thanked his firefighters and surrounding agencies for the response they were able to provide.

"Everyone this morning when they got up, we didn't have any roads blocked. We managed to get done all of that. I think it kind of expedited mitigating the hazards to someone getting electrocuted," Hancock said.

Anyone who lives in the area of Chelsie, Purvis, Bass Point, Green Hills Roads and Route O intersections is asked to use caution.

Hancock said they had no reports of injuries, including area residents and his team members. The department's preliminary report found damage to 23 homes and three commercial buildings.

The American Red Cross has begun gathering information for a formal damage assessment,
which will provide verified totals in the coming days.

According to a news release from Gravois Mills Fire, all mutual aid crews were released back to their respective districts at noon on Wednesday.

The release also said the Incident Command Post will remain operational through early Wednesday evening.

Nearly 800 Ameren Missouri customers around the Lake of the Ozarks remained without power at 4 p.m. Wednesday.