East Brainerd man turning downed trees into keepsake candles

East Brainerd is still in the process of cleanup.

News 12’s Bekah Birdsall went to see how the area is doing over a week after the storm.

It’s been nine days since the tornado hit the East Brainerd area, the community has been working tirelessly to clean up and rebuild.

Snapped and uprooted trees is still a common scenery, but many neighborhoods have already cleared out the majority of debris in their yards.

However, roofs, windows, panels, and much more still needs to be fixed for many neighborhood homes.

While power has already been restored to the majority of the area, many people are still picking up the pieces while trees and debris line the streets waiting for trash pick-up.

I spoke with David Rhoades today about their experience and how they’re recycling snapped trees into a project.

“We heard the wind some wind we heard the rain, but that’s it, we got up the next morning, my flagpole was laying on the ground, it snapped off and we kinda took a walk and saw all this damage down here.

It was terrible, we just felt sorry for everybody that lost so much and i knew all the people, i know them, I know the people there, know the people next door, so you know it’s, it kinda hits home. They went downstairs in a closet, and I think they went downstairs, underneath the stairs.”

While the man and his family we’re not hurt and had little to no damage to their home, he has helped many other neighbors clear trees off their lawn, which gave him the idea to recycle these trees left for the trash into candles.

“All this trash trees around here, and I’m getting mostly oak, I don’t really care for pine, but I cut them in little chunks and I’ll drill the center of it, down to about here and melt my wax and I’ll put scent in it so I mix that in with the wax and pour it in there with a wick and let it set up and there’s your candle.”

He says he just started collecting wood yesterday, but has enough supplies to make a hundred candles.

To place an order for a candle or one of his handmade shelves, email David Rhoades at lynndavidr@epbfi.com

Reporting in Chattanooga, Bekah Birdsall, News 12 Now.