Videos show strong winds slamming into beloved meat market in Terra Bella

TERRA BELLA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Heart-pounding moments outside the Reynoso Meat Market in Terra Bella.

Surveillance cameras captured the moments of strong winds hitting the market on Tuesday evening.

In a matter of seconds, you can see a man try to seek shelter in a car in the parking lot before fierce winds lift a tree, wood panels fly through the air and then the entire canopy near the taco truck goes airborne.

"We were inside when everything started shaking all of a sudden and all of the products started falling. We thought it was an earthquake," says Arturo Reynoso, owner of Reynoso Meat Market.

From another vantage point, a small dog, scared and unsure of what to do, runs for shelter as strong winds carried a table.

"We have four tables of the four tables. We've only found two. The other ones, we don't know where they went," says Reynoso.

One of the customers was helpless inside as she left her kids in the car in the parking lot.

"When she saw the disaster, she wanted to leave, but then the doors opened and then they closed and she couldn't get out," says Reynoso.

Arturo Reynoso has owned his meat market for 14 years; he walked us through what's now piles of debris.

The beloved mom and pop store on the frontlines of the storm's trail of destruction.

Miraculously, Reynoso says no dogs or people were hurt, but he estimates the damage will cost him thousands.

The sheet metal roof, ravaged.

A refrigerator, mangled.

The front of the store, unrecognizable.

Family and neighbors stepped in to help repair the doors and the taco truck.

"We do all our shopping here and we buy all of our carne here. For it to happen out of the blue, that was the scariest part. No one saw it coming," says Adolfo Regardo Jr., Reynoso Meat Market Customer.

ABC30 Insider Video shows the spiraling cloud that formed in the sky. From this view, you can see just how fast it was spinning.

With data still coming into the National Weather Service, it's too soon to confirm if it was, in fact, a tornado.

Arturo tells Action News a team from the National Weather Service did stop by to collect evidence.

"We have to have verification from a lot of different sources before we actually say something is a tornado. Now, you don't have to have a tornado for you to experience damage or a very dangerous or scary weather situation," says Kris Mattarochia, National Weather Service Hanford.

With his adrenaline still pumping, Reynoso says the storm left him speechless.

"It was something incredible. Something I never would have thought would happen here," says Reynoso.

Arturo tells Action News he won't be accepting donations at this time. He's just glad that everyone is safe.

For news and weather updates, follow Brisa Colón on Facebook, X and Instagram.