Family-Run Local Business a Total Loss to Wednesday Weather

The owner of Sea Arrow Marine stood in the middle of Rust St. Wednesday night in a state of despair, warding off oncomers with cell phones and cameras who had come to photograph the remains of the family business that lay in scattered piles yards from her feet.

Mounds of tin, wood, concrete and debris covered an area stretching a good 50 yards, and power lines sagged from poles lining the street alongside building, touching down in some places amidst the shambles.

“It’s a total loss,” the owner relayed around 9:30 p.m. “You see all this tin? That’s my roof. If you go on the other side there’s sheets of metal missing there. The only part that was concrete was the front, the side and the back, so we’re missing sections in the back and the whole, entire roof.”

Sea Arrow Marine is a family-run boating business that has been in San Angelo for over 40 years. The business is comprised of three buildings that line Rust St. at the intersection of Ave. C, in the middle of a populated neighborhood in the 76903 zip code.

Only one of the three buildings appeared to have been damaged Wednesday evening, however the addition of the power lines posed an additional problem. When the storm hit and the power lines fell, a huge expanse of AEP customers in the 76903 area were completely without power.

Faced with the destruction of her family’s source of income, the owner of Sea Arrow humbly broke up as she looked at the dark houses on the street behind her and saw scores of residents standing in their yards.

“I asked the fireman, ‘Did my stuff cause this?’” she said, her voice cracking slightly. “He was like, ‘We don’t know. We don’t know if they went down and then the tin fell on or if the tin hit them and they fell down. Either way, there’s tons of people all around that have no electricity.”

No one was in the building when the damage occurred, however the owner said she and a coworker had intended to work late until she got sick and closed up shop. She heard of the damage from an employee who lives nearby, who called to notify her fiancée when the wind tore through.  

“They said that there was a mini tornado that came through,” she said. “he called me and said ‘the building’s a total loss’. This is our livelihood. Now we can’t come to work for two weeks. They said it could take anywhere between a week and two weeks to clear this up and they said the power lines probably won’t be on for two weeks. Look at all the people around.”

Wednesday night, San Angelo Police Officers and Firemen worked the scene, blocking off traffic and keeping passersby at bay as they waited for someone from the electric company to arrive. An assessment of the damage has not yet been made, however the owner mentions that the building affected is her warehouse, and contains a sizable inventory.

“It’s heartbreaking,” she said with a gasp as tears welled in her eyes. “I mean, we’ve been in business for 40-something years.”