The Cottonwood EF-2 Tornado, a year later: blessings, recovery, and stepping up to help
Lovetown Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Dixon was at work in downtown Cottonwood when the EF-2 tornado struck on January 9th, 2024.
By the time he and his coworkers had received a tornado warning, they were “already in the middle of it.”
A huge gust of wind swept the doors open and slammed them back shut. The four other people in the establishment rushed to the back, and Dixon looked outside before joining them.
“It was a solid gray sheet, you couldn’t see anything outside,” he said. “It was just a solid gray.”
He said the worst of it lasted about ten seconds.
His boss felt water on his forehead, and the group realized the roof had been damaged. Dixon contacted family members to make sure they were in the hallway in case the tornado was headed their way.
But the gravity of the situation hit when he finally stepped outside.
He described it as “absolute chaos.” He saw power lines, trees, sheet metal and rafters littered around, and a full building was destroyed.
“I got on the fire radio and let Ashford know to send us everything they had, because Cottonwood had taken a direct hit.”
He called it the scariest day of his life — even compared to Hurricane Michael.
Photo courtesy of Sharla Fletcher.
Photo courtesy of Sharla Fletcher.
Photo courtesy of Sharla Fletcher.
Cottonwood Fire Chief Randy Hall was at work when he realized a tornado was headed for Cottonwood. His phone started blowing up with calls from emergency management agencies, locals, and the fire department.
“Everybody was calling me and saying, ‘Hey, it’s coming across 231, and that’s when I left… and headed for Cottonwood.”
The storm passed by the time he reached Cottonwood, but the calls kept coming in.
“That’s when I had multiple calls from my guys on-scene, the volunteers, and their word to me was, ‘Cottonwood is totally destroyed, this is bad, this is bad, this is bad,’” he said. “I was tore up the last five minutes before I got to Cottonwood.”
Those trying to navigate Cottonwood had to drive around the large downed trees.
A command center was set up, and as more rescue units arrived on-scene, the priority began with making contact with a report of a death on September Road and going door-to-door to check on all residents.
Charlotte Paschal, 81, was killed when the mobile home she was in rolled over three or four times.
Hall and Dixon both said their hearts went out to Paschal’s family.
Dr. Wozow’s office damage. Photo courtesy of Sharla Fletcher.
Where Dr. Wozow’s vet office used to be.
But Hall and Dixon both were adamant that Cottonwood is blessed.
“Yes, it was a bad day, it was a bad week, and a bad several weeks we had,” Hall said. “That was a sad day, but it’s a new day, all right?
“It’s a new day, and we’re going to get stronger from it, and we are going to be better for it.”
Dr. Bruce Wozow echoed that he shouts his blessings from the mountaintops.
He closed his veterinary office the day of the storm.
“That’s the blessed thing — if it had been 30 minutes later and the weather had been a little more decent, we could have easily been there.”
While Dixon was in a building directly adjacent to Wozow’s office, Dixon was bearing the brunt of the storm himself; it wasn’t until citizens began to carefully step out into the post-storm air that they realized Wozow’s vet office had been destroyed.
Wozow said he was blessed that he and his employees were not there. He said it was a blessing no animals were hurt. He said it was a blessing in disguise to have his office taken out of commission, because he’d planned to retire and didn’t know how he’d close his office.
Photo courtesy of Sharla Fletcher.
Photo courtesy of Sharla Fletcher.
Hall, Dixon and countless volunteers stepped up in the chaos after the storm, handling a gas leak, a wreck, and several medical calls — all while working out of the Cottonwood High School parking lot.
Houston County Sheriff Donald Valenza was there to support Hall and Dixon while they led recovery efforts.
He said insurance companies didn’t cover repairs for many older homes.
Plus, since part of the damage was over the Florida line, tornado damage didn’t technically reach the monetary damage threshold required for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to step in or offer funds.
The Houston County Development Association held a charity concert, raising over $20,000 in donations for a new fire station.
Today, the Cottonwood Fire Department is operating out of a strong structure they call Station Two. Their trucks are offsite.
An Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) grant will allow a new fire station to open toward the end of the year.
City hall has been repaired.
A new senior center is also in the works.
Houston County Commissioner Tracy Adams had to take shelter inside a gas station as the tornado passed over him and debris began pelting his truck.
“It just went crazy for a little while,” he said.
But Adams, a Cottonwood native, also said he had immense pride for the citizens of Cottonwood and for the county Road and Bridge Department stepping in.
“I’m proud of where they were, where they are now, and where they’re headed,” Adams said. “The people of Cottonwood made this process so much better.”
The current facility the Cottonwood Fire Department is using.
I first called Dixon Tuesday, two days before the anniversary of the tornado. It was a dreary day, on the tail end of rain and before frigid temperatures set in.
“I woke up this morning and stepped outside, and I honestly got a little emotional, because it kind of felt like the same way that morning felt,” he said. “It was dark and eerie, and a little warm and humid.”
He said he expected the anniversary to be an emotional day.
“It’s going to be a day of thanksgiving for what we have and what we’re getting, and it’s going to be a day of remembrance of where we were.”
On the day of the anniversary, a full year after the devastating storm, Dixon said he was doing better than he thought he would.
“I woke up this morning grateful to be here,” he said.
He expressed his profound thanks to the citizens, volunteers, first responders, churches, representatives, and businesses who helped.
“I’m thankful for everybody who pitched in,” he said.
Hall sent out a message of graciousness to those within the fire department.
“All are safe, most of the damages have been cleaned up,” he said, noting that cleanup has gone very well, and Cottonwood Station One is coming soon. “(I’m) very thankful for our safety and (where) we’re at today.”
