While most have focused on the destruction caused by a fierce storm that swept through the village on Wednesday evening, a local councillor says the community of Francis should be applauded for rallying together to aid each other in the storm's aftermath.

"You can talk about wild winds and the damages, but I think the whole thing is the rallying, the support," said Reg Helfrick, who lives in Francis but works at SGI in Weyburn.

"I couldn't believe the support from the people that stayed behind, as well as some of the rural people," he added.

At around midnight last Wednesday, the community of Francis was hit with a storm unlike any that residents had ever seen. Initially starting out as a thunderstorm in the Weyburn and Yellow Grass area, the storm strengthened as it moved northeast, with winds building into excess of 100 kilometres per hour, said Bob Cormier, weather preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada.

Described as a "freight train" by some residents, the storm tore down trees and caused extensive damage to homes throughout Francis. One resident, Gottfried Selinger said in his yard alone he had "seven poplars down, out of eight."

Near Selinger's home, the roof of the RM of Francis machine shop was literally lifted off its foundation, where it was flung into the nearby school and came to rest in a field, with sections wrapping around a large tree. Though no one was available at the RM office to provide estimates on the damage, it was clearly extensive.

"The roof is gone. The building is still standing," said Selinger.

The storm then moved to Odessa, where, according to damage reports, it probably developed into a twister, said Cormier.

"It was possible that they had actual tornado damage rather than straight line wind damage," he said.

Following the storm, which caused power blackouts throughout the southeast, town administrator Joyce Carroll said people were immediately out in the streets checking to see if everyone was OK. It was "amazing" to see the townspeople act immediately to check on each other's welfare, she said.

"I know a lot of people didn't get to bed until 2 or 3 in the morning," she said.

The next day, many people took off time from work to clean up not only their own yards, but to help out their neighbours.

"My son and daughter-in-law stayed home from work. They had no damage (but) they stayed home from work to help out," said Helfrick.

Carroll said there were many farmers were also coming into town to help out, bringing in trucks and tractors. Some families even brought their children, some as young as Grade 1 students, to help pick up scattered branches.

"The kids worked beside the adults picking up anything they could," she said. "It almost brought tears to your eyes to see the farmers come in and help the townspeople."

In her own yard, Carroll said a fallen tree had ripped off a power meter. The local electrician fixed it for her free of charge, despite her offer to pay for it.

Also, four youths - Steve Hoff, Jeremy Duke, Kelly Helfrick and Bart Klein - came to her yard to remove the tree without being asked, she said.

"They didn't have to come to my yard, but they did," she said. "The community spirit here was just amazing."

Helfrick said council is planning to apply for assistance through the Saskatchewan Disaster Assistance Program, but has not yet held a meeting to go over the details. There are a lot of costs associated with the clean-up, which is continuing even now.

Still, just as the town rallied to re-build the Francis Hall a few years ago when it was burned down, they will get through even this devastation.

Most importantly of all, Helfrick said everyone is relieved no one was hurt.

"If that had happened at 6 p.m. when people were out in their yards, you'd have never noticed it (coming)," he said. "It could have been a lot worse."