Gordo family plans to keep a special piece of their home after tornado
GORDO, AL. (WCBI) – On March 15, 2025, an EF-2 tornado hit the town of Gordo.
The storm left around 20 buildings in ruins, including homes and businesses.
Kristi Pate was home with her two sons when she saw the line headed toward her town.
“I immediately got the boys, got them to put shoes on and clothes on, and we got in the closet,” Kristi said. “And it wasn’t but like a minute or two later we could hear the winds just get stronger and stronger and we could just feel our house being torn apart. ”
She said that at that moment, they did all they knew to do.
“We just prayed that God would put his angels around us and protect us,” Kristi said.
When the winds died down, and they were in the clear, the closet was intact, with the door still shut.
“I told my boys, when we open this door, it doesn’t matter what it looks like, we’re safe and God protected us,” Kristi said. “And when we pushed the door open, we saw that our house was severely damaged, and it was pretty much a total loss.”
Her husband, Josh Pate, was working at a fire station the next county over.
“When I called her, she said, ‘we’re already in the closet,'” Josh said. “And I said, ‘Well, I’m going to call my dad and make sure they’re in their storm cellar because it could go towards them, and I’ll call you right back.’ And that may have taken, you know, two or 3 minutes to make that call. And by the time I called her back after making sure Dad was in their safe place, it had already, you know, hit the house. And that’s when she told me that it hit it directly. And it was pretty much all gone.”
As Josh started making his way home, trees blocked the way to his house.
He climbed through the trees and ran down the road until his neighbor was able to pick him up and drive him the rest of the way.
Even though their home is gone, there is a piece of it that they now hold dear to their hearts.
And they’re taking it with them as they rebuild.
“We took the floor up, and I don’t quite know how we’re going to utilize that floor,” Kristi said. “But I know that I want to use it somewhere in our new house as a reminder of God’s protection, whether that’s in our safe room, because we will definitely have a safe room in the new house. Or if it’s just a prayer room, we will definitely incorporate that some way into our house because it is definitely a reminder of how God had His hand on me and the boys during that.”
Both Josh and Kristi said they can’t say enough about their community that has helped them during this time – from their church, to their family and friends and the more than 40 firemen from his department coming to help them.
“We’re just thankful and blessed,” Kristi said.
Kristi said from now on, if there is any kind of severe weather coming their way, they will have on shoes and helmets, and she’d like to remind others to do the same.
