'Everybody's Been Here': Sycamore Man's New Home, Now Damaged, Gets Clean Up Help From Friends, Strangers

SYCAMORE, Ill. (CBS) -- The sheer strength of Monday's storms and tornadoes damaged homes for miles.

The family that lives in one Sycamore house not only had their current home damaged, but the home that they were in the process of building is now lopsided and filled with debris.

The silver lining? People who were helping build the new house have been there all day Tuesday helping with clean up. CBS 2's Meredith Barack had the story Tuesday.

"I still don't know what to feel."

Chris Lineman spoke to CBS 2 while taking a break from cleaning up his property. He was checking on his mom when the tornado struck Monday night.

His wife telling him over the phone that the sky was yellow and black and that their front windows were shattering.

"When I pulled in, there was sheet metal just falling from the trees and this is what I came back to," Lineman said.

A barn was completely ripped out of the ground. Its contents thrown about the yard and into the trees. The reason a wall is still standing is because a truck parked behind it.

Lineman said he's still searching for two canoes that seemingly floated away in the strong winds. He said they were hoping to move in to their new home by October. It's something that likely won't happen now, but he's taking it in stride.

"Well, we were building a new house, so that's shot. We can still live in our house," Lineman said. "It's boarded up and my mom lives close. The pigs are okay, the goats are okay, all that's all good."

Also good: People who have showed up to help the Lineman's clean up and recover.

"Lutheran charities is here helping out, all my guys on the build are here helping out, somebody I didn't even know brought me fried chicken," Lineman said. "All this build is all local guys. They all had their heart and soul in the build to begin with and I think they're going to be here a little more now. They're all here. My concrete guy's here, everybody's been here."

As chainsaws continue to roar, Lineman reflects on what he'll miss the most: The trees that have sat on his property for more than 100 years.

"We have trees, I can't get over the trees. I've been cleaning the woods," Lineman said. "It was such a pretty view sitting on my back porch-and now it's not."

The National Weather Service has yet to confirm the strength of this tornado.