Tulsa World // News Article By Randy Krehbiel and Neal Franklin Officials said Sunday that residents should prepare to wait “days, not hours,” for power and other services to be fully restored in the wake of the most damaging citywide weather event since a 2007 ice storm that brought the city to a near-standstill for a week. “We are seeing damage that, when it’s all said and done, may not be quite as bad as the 2007 … ice storm, but it’s going to be close,” Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum said during a Sunday morning news briefing on the “wall of wind,” as he put it, that hit the Tulsa metro at about midnight. “There’s a lot of work out there,” Bynum said. “Please be patient.” Tulsa County Commission Chairman Kelly Dunkerly said the damage is spread throughout the metro area. Dunkerly said Tulsa, other municipalities and the county have declared emergencies in order to pool resources. “It affects Tulsa in a huge way but also Glenpool, Jenks, Bixby, other cities were also impacted,” said Dunkerly. “We’re all pulling together.” Devon Laney was in his midtown home with his family when he heard a crash. “At first I thought it was just a limb,” Laney said “But, I came outside and realized it was a whole tree.” Laney said they would probably have to wait for a crane to lift the tree off of the house. Before that happens, he and his family won’t know what damage the uprooted tree did to their home. Officials said there were no reports of deaths nor injuries in the Tulsa metro from the storm, which packed winds of up to 100 mph reported in midtown Tulsa. A tornado — initially rated an EF-1 by the National Weather Service on Sunday — developed four miles south southwest of Oologah early Sunday morning. Extensive tree and some structural damage was reported with the tornado, but no injuries. Craig Longacre, Laney’s neighbor, woke up to sirens during the storm and then woke up again to clean up the aftermath. Both Laney and Longacre live near where the 100 mph winds were reported. “I got up at 7 o’clock and started helping my neighbors clean their yards,” Longacre said. “That’s what neighbors do.” He brought out a saw to help clear parts of the tree on Laney’s home. Dunkerly said the storm knocked out power and damaged barns at Expo Square, where the remainder of the 13-day Pinto World Championship was postponed until fall. Dunkerly said he had no reports of horses or other livestock injured during the blast. PSO spokesman Wayne Greene said about 183,000 customers were without power late Sunday afternoon. That was down from 205,000 — the “vast majority” in metropolitan Tulsa — at 10 a.m. Greene said that was the most outages since the 2007 storm. Greene said 2,000 workers from as far away as New Jersey and Delaware are re-enforcing about 700 local PSO employees and partners. Sandy and Bob Sober, also midtown Tulsa residents, are without power and had a tree fall. “That’s one of the last trees that was here when we arrived,” Bob said. The Sobers moved into their home in 1982. The tree was covered by burls and supported by wires before it fell. The tree landed in front of their neighbor’s garage. Both of their neighbors are medical professionals, Sandy said. “They both have work to do,” Sandy said. “She said she was going to go ahead and walk to work.” Other trees fell around the neighborhood including several trees that blocked three of the four lanes on Lewis Avenue near 31st Street. People from the neighborhood began clearing one of the trees with a chainsaw. Tulsa Fire Chief Michael Baker said his department had 857 calls between 11 p.m. Saturday and 3:30 p.m. Sunday, which was more than four times the normal amount. In addition to downed power lines, Baker said TFD dealt with more structure fires than usual and was seeing an increase in calls from people needing help with oxygen tanks and other medical equipment that depends on electricity. Baker said equipment can be recharged 24 hours a day through 5 p.m. Thursday at Crosstown Church of Christ, 3400 E. Admiral Place. Tulsa County Commissioner Karen Keith said the Tulsa Boys Home grounds in Sand Springs was “devastated” by the high winds, and several buildings in the Sand Springs area lost roofs. Officials cautioned against clearing branches and debris in the vicinity of power lines. Bynum said the Cox Convention Center suffered serious damage to its roof and that the exterior doors of the Performing Arts Center were blown off and some interior doors shattered. He expects the city to incur considerable expense for repair and replacement of street and traffic lights, too. Replacement of the convention center roof was already part of the Improve Our Tulsa bond issue package going to the voters in August. He and Dunkerly urged Tulsans to stay off the streets as much as possible, especially at night, because of the street and traffic disabled lights and because of debris and crews working to restore power. Officials also uprooted trees have broken water and sewer lines, and the power outage significantly affected cell phone signals. “One of the things you learn in Tulsa is to never assume you’ve seen it all when it comes to weather,” Bynum said. “I will plead guilty to the classic Oklahoma move by going out on my back porch and watch the storm come in last night. And then that wall of wind hit. … It really was a wall that hit our city from one side to the other. I’ve not seen anything like that.” While the city and neighbors try to respond to the damage Laney said bought ice to keep their food cold while they wait for the power to return. Laney also attempted to call a crane to lift the tree off of his home but couldn’t find a company Sunday morning. “I don’t think we’re unique,” Laney said. “I think everybody’s in the same situation.”
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AuthorI am a writer pursuing a career in Journalism who has covered topics in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the D.C. area and American University. Archives
April 2024
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