A Christmas tree farm in Etna, Ark. has recovered from a tornado that hit the small Franklin County town earlier this year, the Associated Press reported Sunday.
The tornado that ripped through Etna May 25 killed one woman and caused damage around the town.
Christmas Tree Lane saw its share of damage from the twister, losing hundreds of trees and having to “re-stake trees and position them to make them salable because many got knocked over in the storm,” according to AP.
Owner Jim Lane told AP it was important to reopen his business and keep families’ traditions alive.
Despite the damage and lost trees, buyers can still choose from more than 2,500 trees at Christmas Tree Lane, AP said.
Meanwhile, the historic drought in Texas and Oklahoma forced tree farmers – some of whom have invested their lives in the business - to import trees from North Carolina “to supplement any they have left” or shut down completely, AP said in a separate report on the struggles of numerous tree farmers in the region.
"We've had to hire a contractor and pull all the dead and all the live trees," 79-year-old Jean Raisey, who runs a Christmas tree farm in Purcell, Okla., said. "And we're out of business."
