Benton, KY – House rebuilt after a hurricane, now ashes.
Such is the case for local woman, Jensen Lindsay, and her family in Benton, Kentucky.
After her home was destroyed in the December 10 tornado, Janssen had to work on the house himself, with demolition and reconstruction.
Now, seven months later, the home almost ready to move in is just ashes.
Luckily no one was there when the fire started.
But Lindsay, her son, and her contractor were working on the house just hours before.
By laying the floors and installing the air-conditioning units, Lindsay says they were planning to move in the next month.
She was on her way to visit her parents when she got a call which changed her.
“We’re just 10 miles down the road and we can see huge black smoke, just rolling in. That’s it, lord get me over there. Please don’t let it be real. Let it be… I mean, it felt like We were in a nightmare,” Lindsey says.
Janssen Lindsay knows this sentiment all too well.
She says it was like a flashback to the night of the 10 December storm.
“Out here just looked like a war zone. There were propane tanks hissing and power lines popping. It was devastating,” Lindsey says.
Lindsay and her family have spent countless hours designing their new home.
Losing it the second time is difficult for them to process.
“My inner side feels like they’re separated. One of my daughters, she still doesn’t know. She’s at church camp this week. My other two kids, they… you know it was our home . I don’t know if we can do it again, ”says Lindsay.
She was building her dream house by hand.
Now that it’s gone, Lindsay isn’t sure what’s next.
“I have plans for a house that I’ve wanted since the tornado, but other than that, I don’t know. It might be easier to buy some,” says Lindsay.
Whatever she is doing, she is hopeful for the future.
“It’s definitely hard to keep your head up, but you have to put one foot in front of the other and move forward,” says Lindsey.
Lindsay currently relies on her family for support.
She says that it is she and her faith that keeps her afloat.
The investigation into the cause of the fire is still on.
Lindsay asked the community to give them space to process and asked for their prayers.