Lakes across the state were reopened for fishing on Monday, April 20. Mississippi governor Tate Reeves opened all state-funded and owned lakes by executive order. They were previously closed due to COVID-19 concerns by a state-wide shelter-in-place order two weeks before.
But one local lake, located inside the Big Ten Water Park, remains closed due to significant damage it received from an F4 tornado that ripped through Jones County late in the evening on Easter Sunday.
“We have two cabins, and one is completely totaled,” said Big Ten Manager Teresa Dinwiddie. “We lost the Boy Scout area pavilion as well. We have two bath houses that were hit by falling trees. Two campers, a motor home, fire panels, water lines, and trees, are also damaged [or lost]. Lots of trees.”
Shortly after the tornado, Dinwiddie made her way to the park from her home to survey the damage and check on co-workers Sandra Ainsworth and David Day, who lived inside the park, as well as several of the park’s permanent campers.
“We rounded the garage dumpers on the dirt road, and that was it, we couldn’t go any farther,” remembered Dinwiddie. “Trees were laid everywhere. We had to run through them, under them, and around them to get to Sandra.”
Ainsworth barely made it into one of the cabins from her camper by the check-in station before the tornado hit.
“I was trying to call Sandra [after the storm],” said Dinwiddie. “I called several times and couldn’t get an answer. I told myself, ‘this isn’t good.’”
After what seemed like hours — but in reality just a few minutes — Ainsworth was able to reach her. “Finally, she called me back,” recalled Dinwiddie. “She was crying. She couldn’t get out. The cabins all around her were destroyed.”
Dinwiddie’s son, Cody Spradley, 25, dug Ainsworth out of the rumble.
“He was my angel of mercy,” said Ainsworth.
Across the way, Day and his wife were huddled up together with several campers and neighbors from outside the park in the southernmost bathhouse.
“You could see it swirling across the lake,” said Day. “We barely got in before the tornado came across. Trees went everywhere. Luckily, nobody was hurt.”
Before the tornado, Dinwiddie urged her co-workers to ride out the approaching tornado in the park’s check-in station.
“I told them to stay at the office,” said Dinwiddie. “This office protected a lot of people during Katrina. But what Katrina didn’t get, this tornado got.”
Off to the west side of the lake, the tornado caused extensive damage to the nature trails. “Our five-mile horse trail is completely wiped out,” said Dinwiddie.
The crew at Big Ten Water Park are cleaning up the mess created by the tornado, but Dinwiddie is seeking help from FEMA.
“At this point, we don’t know if FEMA will help in the cleanup,” said Dinwiddie. “Right now, we’re doing it all ourselves. To be honest, I don’t know what we’re going to do.”
If you want to help Big Ten Water Park in the cleanup, contact them at 601-763-8555. Big Ten Water Park will be closed for the foreseeable future.