TAYLORVILLE, Ill. (WAND) - Three years ago an EF-3 tornado went through Taylorville, leaving hundreds of homes destroyed.

It's a day the community will never forget, and Mayor Bruce Barry said it was supposed to be a day of celebrating the holiday season.

"We were supposed to have our Christmas parade that night and our fire chief Mike Cruz called the Christmas parade off because of the pending tornadoes in the area, and, you know, what a great decision he made then," Barry said. 

First responders like Sheriff Bruce Kettelkamp remember how difficult it was getting around, especially in the dark.

"It was dark, there was no lights, and again, you couldn't drive down the streets. I had to get out of my car and there was people that you know were very upset, everybody was outside, there were people crying, and of course we have people that were trapped, were injured," Kettelkamp said. 

Once the sun came up the next morning, the community came together to repair the damage and get everything back to normal.

"It was just unbelievable how many people volunteered to come out. They'd bring their chainsaws; they'd help us clear out the streets. It was almost impossible for us first responders to get some of the areas because it was like a war zone," said Kettelkamp.

Three years later, almost everything is back to normal except the flagpole in Oak Hill Cemetery that serves as a reminder that sometimes things are just bent, not broken.

"It's amazing the work that we have done in the past three years, and it seems like most places are pretty well back to normal," said Barry.

The tornado lasted 24 minutes and injured more than 20 people. A total of 34 homes were destroyed and 66 were seriously damaged.