WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — After vandals cut wires to two communication towers in Wichita Falls in December, a 440-foot tower carrying weather spotters communication equipment collapsed.

The all-volunteer network of weather spotters in Wichita County said they expect their operations to kick into high gear in March when severe weather typically returns to Texoma.

Danny Caldwell’s 38 years of experience as a volunteer storm spotter have trained his eye to spot storm formations that make early detection of severe weather fast and more accurate possible and the radios used to communicate vitally.

“A lot of times we’ll go out to a certain spot. But we are always on the move. When the storms move, we move with them. And sometimes another storm will form,” Caldwell said.

His 38 years of experience as a volunteer storm spotter have trained his eye to spot storm formations that make early detection possible and the radios uses to communicate vitally.

“On a cell phone you can’t do that without disconnecting and connect back up. And we just have a microphone that we hold in our hand and we can talk,” Caldwell said.

That’s why Wichita County Storm Spotter Coordinator Charlie Byars is hoping the community will help the group raise the $9000 dollars needed to replace the communication system destroyed in the tower collapse.

“There are good people here in town. And they always. They know who we are and they know what we do. And what we are trying to do is get the information to them on how they can help us through a tax-deductible donation,” Byars said.

The Wichita Falls Area Foundation is accepting donations that will go directly to help raise the money to replace the storm spotters communication tools Byars said he has been using since 1972 as a way to give back to the community.

Byers said he expresses his appreciation to Mobile Phone of Texas, KFDX-TV, and the Wichita Falls Area Foundation for their many years of support.