BELTON, Texas — Memorial Day storms left Chalk Ridge Falls Park in Belton badly damaged, but a dedicated group of local volunteers is stepping up to tackle the massive cleanup effort and get the popular park back open to the public.

The park was hit hard by severe thunderstorms, leaving fallen trees and scattered debris along the park's popular hiking trails.

"It came in the Monday night and Memorial Day, kind of late at night, so we were dealing with all the emergency situations at the lake that night," said John Thibodeaux, the lake manager for the Army Corps of Engineers at Stillhouse Hollow Lake.

But one local volunteer group, already familiar with the park's trails, decided to step in and help with the extensive cleanup effort.

The Central Texas Master Naturalists, a group that

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