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Strong storm batters Lake Wales community
Ken Suarez reports
LAKE WALES, Fla. - Winter Haven and Lake Wales were battered by high winds, heavy rain and hail Wednesday evening – causing scattered storm damage.
Many vendors at the Sunshine Flea Market off of US 27 in Lake Wales were left with damages after the storms, including John Arliss.
Arliss went to check on his business "Historic Model Ships" Thursday morning and was horrified.
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While the model ships and nautical items he made by hand were safe inside his trailer, everything outside was trashed the night before.
Even after losing thousands of dollars in handcrafted items, he is determined to bounce back.
"I am 82 years old, and I want to enjoy the rest of my life doing stuff like this. I will manage. I will manage," Arliss said while getting choked up. "God is good. He will stick with me."
The storm brought heavy rain, high winds and even hail to the flea market and the surrounding area. It shredded some vendors' tents while others were ripped from the ground, lifted high in the air, and dropped, leaving them a twisted mess.
Many of the vendors are going to struggle to rebuild, because they are on fixed incomes and need the money that they make at the Sunshine Flea Market on weekends to survive.
What makes things more complicated is that few carry insurance on the items they sell or the equipment they use.
This is not the first time Mother Nature kicked the flea market to its knees.
Back in 2004, Hurricane Charley battered Lake Wales, including the market, and it took six weeks for them to recover.
The owner said this time, it is going to be closed this weekend and possibly re-open the following one.