Debris litters the lot at Diffee Ford-Lincoln-Mercury on Wednesday morning, left by a storm that blasted through the area.

By Staff Writers

Twisted girders of metal and piles of splintered wood and shingles mark the path of a storm that spun through the darkness Tuesday night, leaving a swath of destruction in its wake across south El Reno.

Police said only one injury was reported in connection with the storm — a truck driver whose semi-tractor trailer was one of three blown over as the storm touched down south of the city just after 11:45 p.m. and moved north across Interstate 40, striking Diffee Ford-Lincoln-Mercury before moving north, tracking along Rock Island Avenue. The driver was reportedly being treated at Parkview Hospital and the extent of the driver’s injuries were unknown as of presstime.

A spokesman with the National Weather Service in Norman said their office was unable to confirm the damage was caused by a tornado, but they had staff in El Reno today assessing if it was a tornado. Winds that moved through the city had at times been clocked close to 90 mph.

El Reno Fire Chief Kent Lagaly said the town’s major businesses barely avoided a direct hit from the storm. It could have been much worse if the storm had taken a slightly different path. Just as fortunate were the residents of two mobile home parks that barely avoided the brunt of the storm.

Speaking from a command post at the offices of Oklahoma Environmental Management Authority, 1500 S. Rock Island, Lagaly said the storm caused some damage south of I-40 and then moved north to the industrial park that is home to Dexter Axle, Gemini Coatings and Heritage Press. Dexter had some roof damage, while Gemini’s aerosol operation was damaged and will be out of operation for awhile. Also, the roof on the south end of Heritage Press was damaged, exposing printing presses inside the building. Lagaly said workers were in a race to cover the presses before more expected rain moved into the area. If the storm had struck the core of the Gemini operation, Lagaly said it could have been much worse.

Although the damage could have been worse, Diffee Ford-Lincoln-Mercury co-owner Laine Diffee said his family’s business felt the wrath of the storm.

“We guess in the range of 100 cars were damaged and at least 10 of those are a total loss,” Diffee said. “The truck center is a complete and total loss. We’ve got at least 20 light poles, the entire fence, three large signs and 10 smaller ones that are all a loss.”

Diffee said he estimates the storm caused over a $1 million in damage.

“When you are talking about $50,000 and $60,000 trucks, it adds up quickly. But we’ve got insurance adjusters on the way and we’ll know more then,” Diffee said.

At El Reno Estates mobile home park, 1501 S. Rock Island, manager Sharon Walling said the scare caused by the storm was the worst she’s been through in her 17 years of living there. A nearby storm shelter, built three years ago for park residents, was packed by the time she arrived.

“We’re always really bad about going to the shelter,” Walling said. “Luckily, everyone heard the sirens and headed that way.” She said one mobile home was damaged when a tree crashed into it. Walling, who also manages Skyview Mobile Home Park near I-40, said at least two mobile homes were damaged there. She said her son, who lives at Skyview, said the ceiling of his home caved in during the storm, while another mobile home was damaged when “two boards were blown right through it.”

Walling said one mobile home at El Reno Estates was pushed from its foundation. Crews from Oklahoma Natural Gas arrived shortly after the storm to turn off gas to the mobile home.

Whitney Meeks, a resident at El Reno Estates, made it to the storm shelter in time, but in doing so her car ran over wire and cable that had been blown into the road. Wednesday morning she was trying to get the car untangled with help from Shane Tilley. Meeks said she heard the storm sirens about 11:45 p.m., jumped in her car and headed for the shelter. The OEMA headquarters sits between the mobile home park and the storm shelter.

The storm heavily damaged a retail strip center at 1600 S. Rock Island, before moving across state Highway 66 where it struck VFW Post 382.

Jessica Lee, owner of Easy Tanning located in the strip, said she didn’t have the words to express how she feels about the damage to her 2-year-old business.

“Right now we are trying to figure out how to get these tanning beds apart so we can put them in storage if they can be saved,” Lee said.

Attempting to look at the brighter side of the situation, Easy Tanning employee Evelyn Morphis said they needed to do some remodeling so the tornado just helped them out.

“We needed new carpet anyway,” she said.

Lagaly said after striking the VFW Post, the tornado apparently lifted before cutting through the Fair Addition. Most of the damage there was to trees, fences and windows.

“Every dispatcher, firefighter and police officer was called in,” advised El Reno Emergency Management Director Robert Coleman. “By 1:30 a.m. it appeared we had every available public works employee in gear as well.”

Early Wednesday, Mayor James Moore signed a declaration of disaster that was being transmitted to the Oklahoma State Department of Emergency Management as crews from the public works department and Canadian County continued to work to clear streets of all debris.

Several power outages were reported and the city urged residents to stay away from any downed lines or cables. Residents suspecting a gas leak were asked to immediately call 911.
Coleman said that an initial damage estimate was unavailable, but that the city hoped to have an accurate idea of the destruction by Wednesday afternoon.

Before the storm hit Tuesday night, city staff was already trying to cope with the threat of flooding from Four Mile Creek and the South Canadian River, which had absorbed more than 5 inches of rainfall in the El Reno area since May 1.

Daryl Williams, forecaster for the National Weather Service in Norman, said Tuesday there will continue to be a 40 to 50 percent chance of rain through Thursday in Canadian County.
“It is going to be a crap shoot over the next couple of days until that upper-low system over the Southwest starts to move,” he said.

The particular storm system that has invaded Oklahoma is an especially hard one to predict, so the best thing to do is to be prepared for floods, Williams said.

“You could get as little as a tenth of an inch or you could get 3 to 4 inches. Right now, with all of the rain we have gotten, floods are possible. Canadian County is in a flood watch until Thursday morning,” he said.

Superintendent of Parks Dave Roscom said he and his crew worked feverishly Tuesday morning to clear debris from drainage ditches and block off hazardous streets.

After the rains stopped on Tuesday afternoon, Roscom said the creek had gone down a little bit and the roadways were drying, but there was no promise that El Reno was out of the woods.

“It’s holding steady right now. So what we are doing is going back through and removing the debris from the areas it flooded,” he said. “Now we are just getting ready for the next round.”

Freeman Pawnee, acting supervisor for the streets department, said they closed Radio Road between Elm and Foreman and Ash between Reno and Morrison streets on Tuesday.

“The streets and sewer is overwhelmed with water. I have sewer lids being pushed open from the water flowing underneath them,” Pawnee said.

Whether it’s raining or holding out, the biggest thing to remember right now is to use common sense and caution, Williams said.

“If it starts to rain it’s trouble. The ground can’t stand any more. If you can’t see the road, don’t go through it,” he said. “It’s best to stay off the side roads as best you can, because they don’t have as good of drainage systems as the main roads do.”

Although things are dreary right now, Williams said there is a rainbow at the end of this storm system.

“The good news is that it looks like Friday and through the weekend we are going to dry out,” Williams said.