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By Adrian Sainz and Bruce Schreiner

The Associated Press

MAYFIELD, Ky. 鈥� Sundays at the Bullock home in rural Kentucky were filled with lasting memories: big family dinners, cornhole, basketball and karaoke.

Those gatherings ended the night of Dec. 10, 2021, when聽a massive tornado聽obliterated their Dawson Springs house, trapping Chris Bullock, her 17-year-old son, Stevie, and miniature poodle Dewey under a crumbled brick wall in the basement. Chris’ husband pulled them from the rubble with minor injuries, but the house where the Bullocks lived for 26 years was gone.

鈥淭here were things we were never able to find,鈥� Chris Bullock told The Associated Press recently. 鈥淥ur neighbor’s dryer was in our yard. We found our ketchup, but we couldn’t find our refrigerator.鈥�

Four months after the tornado upended the lives of many Kentuckians, Chris Bullock and hundreds of others are arduously rebuilding their pre-storm existence. Thanks to a vast network of municipal workers, contractors, churches, charities and volunteers, communities like Dawson Springs, Mayfield and Bowling Green are edging toward recovery.

The storm system that spawned the tore through a handful of states. The National Weather Service recorded 41 tornadoes on Dec. 10 and 11, including 16 in Tennessee and eight in Kentucky. Eighty-one people died in Kentucky, state officials said. Thousands found shelter with relatives and friends, or in emergency facilities, hotels and state parks.

In Mayfield, a candle factory, a nursing home and government buildings were destroyed. Homes were ripped from foundations and splintered by fierce winds. Crews worked day and night to clear debris and restore power.

Audible evidence of reconstruction in Mayfield has been difficult to miss: the cracking and crashing of excavators breaking apart wood and glass, the beep-beep-beep of heavy machinery reversing, the popping of roofers’ nail guns.

In an AP interview, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said removing debris and finding temporary housing were early priorities after the tornado. More recently, attention has turned to keeping residents in Kentucky.

鈥淭hese are towns that have almost been wiped off the map,鈥� Beshear said. 鈥淲e will continue to be concerned about getting people back on their feet and concerned about not losing the population of these towns.鈥�

Some have moved to more permanent shelter, including travel trailers, the governor said. In Graves County, tiny homes were approved for displaced residents, and several larger homes are being built in Mayfield, emergency management Director Tracy Warner said.

鈥淲e really hold the future of Mayfield and Graves County in our hands,鈥� Warner said. 鈥淎nd that is scary, yet exciting.鈥�

Although there’s cause for optimism, progress remains slow in places. In Dawson Springs, where Bullock and her family now live in a camper, the 54-year-old registered nurse said she has seen just a few houses being rebuilt, and some friends say they won’t stay.

Bullock and her husband had paid off their home but didn’t have insurance. A disaster-response charity is helping them build a new house on their property, and Bullock hopes to see a day when their family gatherings resume.

鈥淪undays were fun days. 鈥� I just want to have that again,鈥� she said.

Beshear, a Democrat, said millions of dollars in housing assistance payments from a state relief fund are being distributed. Approximately $64 million in federal assistance has been approved for storm victims in Kentucky, with some aid targeting temporary housing, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said.

Recovery will take 鈥渁 couple of years, but it shouldn’t take any longer,鈥� Beshear said. 鈥淭here are days that it’s a little more frustrating 鈥� but we are going to get this done.鈥�

After the storm, bottled water, diapers and other supplies poured in from across the country. Heartland Church in Paducah became a collection point as volunteers with trucks and trailers made deliveries. The Rev. Marc Glass and volunteers loaded a church outbuilding and a donated warehouse with everything from paper towels to toys.

Herschel Evans, a driver for the American Trucking Associations’ Share the Road program, volunteered to drive a 53-foot-long semitrailer full of supplies from Atlanta to Paducah.

鈥淚 don’t have a lot of money, but I’ve got skills,鈥� Evans said. 鈥淚’ve got the ability to move that truck around the country.鈥�

Heartland’s relief efforts have shifted to rebuilding, with donated furniture and beds for folks who have found new places to live. But Glass said the church’s community spirit goes further than that.

鈥淲e don’t simply care about your physical needs, but we care about you as a whole person,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e care about your soul.鈥�

In Dawson Springs, charity group God’s Pit Crew is rebuilding Chris Bullock’s home free of charge.

The nonprofit, based in Danville, Virginia, relies on volunteers and donated equipment to rebuild houses after disasters ranging from hurricanes to forest fires, said Chris Chiles, a staff member with the group.

Chiles led a convoy carrying about $1 million worth of heavy machinery, tree removal tools and a shower to Kentucky in January. God’s Pit Crew also brings volunteers who counsel victims.

鈥淭here’s more healing that goes on with that than putting a tarp on their roof,鈥� Chiles said. 鈥淭hey can sit with someone and let them know that somebody cares about them.鈥�

Bullock and her husband thought briefly about leaving Dawson Springs or finding an existing home rather than rebuilding on their property, 鈥渂ut we lived in that house for 26 years and we raised five children there.鈥�

鈥淚t’s just home,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t just didn’t feel right to be anywhere else.鈥�

Editor’s note: Schreiner reported from Frankfort, Kentucky.