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RINGGOLD, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — It was both a terrifying and a beautiful sunset scene on Saturday evening when intense setting-sky colors seemed to swirl with funnel clouds, rain, wall clouds, and at least one National-Weather-Service-confirmed tornado.

“It was like fire and water. It reminded me of a volcano going into the ocean, the bright orange and the blue. And you could just see the clouds tumbling as it got above us,” said Michael Lee, an artist and photographer from Lincoln Parish who happened to be at Melrose Plantation selling his artwork when the skies let loose.

“The lightening was… I haven’t seen lightening like that in a long time,’ said Lee, uncharacteristically stuttering when he remembered the details of the storm he recorded in both photography and videography.

When asked if he was afraid of the storm, Lee said, “I was more intrigued but on the cautious and fearful side. I was thinking, ‘I know this isn’t safe, but I can’t stop watching.'”

Lee said he has never seen as big of a storm wall as the one he recorded on Saturday night, and Lee grew up in rural northern Louisiana. He is no stranger to severe thunderstorms.

But this one, he said, was different.

“It seemed like it was moving fast. It was insane,” he told KTAL.

A team from the National Weather Service was on the ground surveying damage around Ringgold on Sunday.

“Our survey team found a roughly 2 1/2 mile-long EF-1 tornado track. It began southwest of Ringgold with maximum estimated winds of 104 mph,” said Armani Cassell of NWS on Sunday afternoon.

The extent of the tornado’s damage is not currently known, but Cassell says there will be a public information statement released on Sunday evening.

Photos of the sunset storm from many different angles are being shared across social media as victims survey their losses on Sunday. When viewed together, these sunset thunderstorm photos, taken simultaneously by strangers from Natchitoches to Ringgold, show the enormity of storm systems that frequently shred their way across ArkLaTex skies.

One video, taken by Kenneth Hicks near Ringgold, shows the tornado as it is forming.

Michael Lee’s video of the storm was taken at approximately the same time as Kenneth Hicks was recording tornado video. But Natchitoches is more than 45 miles away from Ringgold.

It is not currently known how many people were mesmerized by the feelings of both fear and amazement as the natural world gave humans a sight they will not soon forget.

Strong storms can question the fragility of any human who stands against them.

Steven King once wrote, “The water was glassy and calm, still candy-colored in the afterglow of sunset.” But Steven King novels aren’t scary when compared to the ever-intensifying storms that kill men, women, and children across the South every year.

This is a developing story and more information will be provided as it is obtained.

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Mrs. Beatrice T. Maxile was born November 4, 1946. The sixth of seven children born to Clifton and Helen Lockett Toney, she was baptized at an early age at Bethlehem Baptist Church by Rev. P. M. Robinson. She graduated from Bethune Jr./Sr. High School in 1964 and began studies at Grambling College (now Grambling State University) soon thereafter. She pursued the Bachelor of Science degree (Secondary Education) while at Grambling and remained active in musical ensembles. Her matriculation at Grambling also involved a spark that ultimately resulted in a union of holy matrimony to Horace Joseph Maxile, Sr. in 1967. She began teaching in the Caddo Parish School System in the late 1960s. Union High School and Eden Gardens High School were among her first assignments before she began teaching at Fair Park High School in 1972. During her tenure at Fair Park, she developed and maintained a reputation as a “no nonsense” teacher, who exhibited tough love and the importance of being organized. Short in stature, but powerful in pedagogy and approach, she was respected by students, fellow faculty members, and administration. She was an active member of the Galilee Missionary Baptist Church for over 40 years. While most active in the music ministry, she also worked in missions, assisted with serving snacks to Vacation Bible School students, and was a faithful member of her Sunday School class. A member of the Zeta Iota Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., she held following offices: Dean of Pledgees, Parliamentarian, and Sorority Chairperson of the Amecia Auxiliary. She leaves to cherish her memory her husband of 57 years, Horace J. Maxile, Sr.; two sons Horace J. Maxile Jr. (Joletta) of Waco, TX; Heath J. Maxile (League City, TX); two grandchildren Nathan and Rachel of Waco, TX (who she adored); two sisters Gwendolyn T. Cason and Mary T. Bethel, both of Shreveport, LA; one brother Claude C. Toney (Ada) of Ringgold, LA; a dear friend Joe Etta Foster of Shreveport, LA and a host of nieces, nephews, Godchildren, friends, and former students. She is preceded in death by her parents Clifton and Helen Toney, brother Jerry Toney, sisters Ethel Odom and Laura Johnson.

RINGGOLD, LA (KSLA) - A Ringgold teen will be celebrating 2 graduations Friday evening, one from high school and the other from college.

Azariya McClendon, 17, will get her associates degree from Bossier Parish Community College at 2 p.m. Then, at 6:30 p.m., she will graduate from Ringgold High School.

According to the superintendent for Bienville Parish school system, Azariya is the first to accomplish this goal.

"Honestly it's still kind of hard to believe," McClendon said. "It hasn't really set in yet but I'm excited."

Azariya was in a dual-enrollment program and took classes from BPCC while in high school. She said she started taking college classes as a freshman and finished her high school curriculum as a sophomore.

"I played basketball, softball and I was a cheerleader. So when I wasn't doing any of that, I was studying," said McClendon.

She says her school counselor, Timothy Williams, was there to help her every step of the way. Williams says it was the plan since day 1 to graduate high school with the associates degree.

But that plan changed a bit after Azariya was in a bad car crash on her way to BPCC campus the first day of school. Right after the accident, she called her mother.

"That's my only baby," her mother, Chanequal Murphy said. "So for me, the only thing I could think of was Lord let my baby be okay."

Azariya suffered from a broken hand and had to have 3 surgeries and rehab therapy. But after the accident, her mother said her injuries were the last of her daughter's concerns.

"The only thing she could think of was, 'mama I don't know if Mr. Williams is going to be mad at me. We have a plan, mama, we have a plan.'"

Mr. Williams said, "She said, 'is this going to throw us off?' I said 'we have this. We're going to get this.'"

Azariya had to re-learn how to eat, write, type and basically use her right hand. Despite her set backs, Azariya was able to achieve her goal right on time.

She said she couldn't have done it without the support from her family, who was there to support her the whole time.

Azariya plans on attending the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to major in biology, and hopes go to medical school at LSU-S afterward to become an OBGYN.

Ringgold counselor Mr. Williams says there are several students who hope to follow in Azariya's foot steps. He says there are some sophomore's who are half way there with 30 college credits.

Copyright 2016 KSLA. All rights reserved.

When Davyta Gray, 30, went for a walk on Pine Street on Sept. 27, nearly a dozen dogs from a nearby home attacked him.

BIENVILLE PARISH, La. (KSLA) - Because of the array of scars across his body, Davyta Gray will be reminded every day of the horror he endured when he was mauled by a pack of dogs and bitten 133 times.

“I’m doing a little better. Like my legs and stuff are still hurting, but the recovery, it’s coming back kind of slow,” Gray told KSLA.

On Sept. 27, Davyta Gray was taking a walk on Pine Street on the way to visit a friend when he was attacked by multiple dogs, resulting in him nearly losing his life.

[RELATED STORY: Ringgold man mauled by pack of dogs, bitten 100+ times nearly losing arm]

“The dogs, they just ran up to me and started barking and stuff, but I’m used to them doing that, so I’m thinking they just gone do what they been doing, but they kept on coming. And I seen how serious it was,” he recalled. “That’s when I started swinging to get them off me. They got my legs first. Thats when I fell down trying to fight them off, keep them off, but I couldn’t do nothing but scream and holler for a little while.”

That typical walk for Gray nearly cost him his life. Even though he screamed for help, nobody came.

“It’s the worst feeling of your life, helpless. Just watching it happen, knowing you can’t do anything about it going on,” he lamented.

After getting mauled and bitten more than 100 times, the dogs finally relinquished their attacks and left Gray alone. But not without major injuries.

“To save my arm, they had to take an artery out of my leg and put it here to save my arm,” Gray explained.

Gray was on life support for several days and had to undergo five major surgeries, and doctors nearly had to amputate his arm. He says he’s just grateful to be alive.

“God got a purpose for me still being here because I’m supposed to be right there beside him,” Gray said.

He wasn’t the only person attacked by the pack of dogs. According to Bienville Parish Sherrif’s Office, 40-year-old Donovan Brooks was also mauled by the same dogs and tragically lost his life.

“Rest in peace to him. He lost his life,” Gray said.

Family members say Brooks was missing for weeks before his remains were found on Pine Street, which is where Gray was attacked as well.

The sheriff’s department has arrested four people in connection to the dog attacks. They’re believed to be the dogs’ owners.

Webster Parish Animal Control officers seized over two dozen dogs from the property last week.

Images of Gray’s wounds can be seen in the gallery below:

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Copyright 2023 KSLA. All rights reserved.

RINGGOLD, La. - Severe weather pounded the ArkLaTex Saturday evening, prompting a Red Weather Alert by the KTBS MEGA 3 Storm Team.

National Weather Service confirms an EF1 tornado with 104 mph winds, tracks 2.4 miles. Touchdown occurred just west/southwest of Ringgold, LA on Saturday evening.

No injuries reported.

Scattered tree damage is reported along with hail. There is also a report of a tree down on a home in Ringgold.

Even though the severe weather threat is over, just around 200 outages remain in the ArkLaTex due to the heavy winds and hail damage.

Hail reports are have also come in from a number of other areas including Benton, Bossier, Haughton, Noble, and Zwolle.

When severe storms roll in, power outages are likely. Click here to connect with SWEPCO and see a real-time map of outages in the area. You can also report an outage and get an update on when your power is likely to be restored.

SHREVEPORT, La. - Plan for another extremely hot day in the ArkLaTex. A heat advisory will be in place until 8 p.m. Thursday for most of the area.

Our afternoon heat index values will be ranging between 105-109.

Highs will sneak into the low triple-digits, with a stalled cold front to our north. Thankfully, things should begin to cool down into the weekend.

Extremely to critically dry fuels and lower daytime relative humidity will help maintain elevated fire weather conditions areawide again Thursday.

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It's easy to be weather-wise. Keep up with all of the very latest weather developments with the KTBS MEGA 3 Storm Team. We're always on stand-by to help you ride out the storm and keep you and your family safe. You'll also want to arm yourself with the KTBS MEGA 3 Storm Team app available for Apple and Android devices. When necessary, look for LIVE coverage on all of your KTBS 3 Now connected devices including KTBS 3.2 and ktbs.com.

Also, use #ktbswx on social media to report damage, flooding or post images and video. Please remember, SAFETY FIRST.