“I’m hurting pretty bad”: Shops at Bell County Flea market destroyed by strong winds

BELTON, Texas (KWTX) - Business owners at the Bell County Flea Market in Belton are picking up the pieces after strong winds this morning damaged or destroyed several stores and shops.

This Flea Market has been around for 35 years and, every week, hundreds of vendors, permanent or visiting, set up shop there. Monday's storms devastated many of the vendors.

Assistant manager Sage Roberts says he got the call about his family's flea market at around 9 a.m. Monday.

"I got a call from one of the guys that helps out around here and he said hey it's going down at the flea market, you need to get up here," Roberts explained. And when he got there he couldn't believe what he saw.

One of the well-known vendors in the market, Dave Lambert, said a friend of his actually saw what happened, calling him immediately.

"He had heard a loud sound and he saw this rushing wind, like a small tornado, just rip through my shop and go on down the line here," Lambert shared, "behind my shop, many more shops were destroyed."

His store, Dave's Guns and More, was destroyed after both walls collapsed and the roof caved in.

"I'm just in shock... this has been my livelihood for the last 14 years I've been here. I just don't know what to do," Lambert said.

Both Lambert and Roberts say it will probably take months to rebuild his store, but a lot longer to fully recover.

According to Roberts, "the whole things probably going to have to come down sadly, this one's probably been here for 30 years."

"Financially, I don't even want to think about it. I'm hurting pretty bad," Lambert shared.

For now, all they can do is start the long clean up process and salvage what they can, something many have already started.

"It sucks, but just gotta get to work and get it cleaned up before next weekend," Roberts said.

According to him, it didn't take long for people to hear what happened and come out to help.

"I'm glad a lot of our vendors came out to help, even. I just talked to a guy, I didn't even know who he was, he just stopped to help," he shared.

In spite of everything, Lambert says he's choosing to look on the bright side and trust that everything will work out.

"I'm just glad nobody got hurt and I thank the lord Jesus for giving me hope for a better day," Lambert said.

They have now been given the all clear to go inside their stores and start clearing everything out, which they'll likely be out all week doing.

But Roberts says just like when their flea market was damaged last June from the severe weather, they'll come back from this.