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Bourbon County added to Kansas disaster area list
By Jason E. Silvers and Rayma Silvers
The Fort Scott Tribune
Without much warning, high winds uprooted trees and downed power lines across Bourbon County on Tuesday.
Tuesday evening held much excitement for many Bourbon County residents. While some people were just settling in for the night, strong winds began to cause trees to sway dangerously, and caused some trees to pummel the ground.
Fort Scott resident Helen Golladay, 915 S. National, was taken by surprise when a large tree in her neighbor's yard grazed the side of her house. Although Golladay was left unharmed, she said the tree destroyed her air-conditioning system and caused other undetermined damage to the side of her house.
Golladay said she was relieved that the tree had not fallen any closer to her house than it did.
"A few more feet and it would have crushed my house," Golladay said.
According to a statement from Bourbon County Emergency Manager Keith Jeffers, the National Weather Service placed Southeast Bourbon County under a tornado warning at 11:15 p.m. Tuesday. The warning, which lasted until midnight, included Fort Scott, Pawnee Station and the Garland Drywood Township.
Jeffers said the local tornado sirens were sounded form 11:15 p.m. until 11:55 p.m. at which time the all-clear was sounded. The storm caused some residents in Garland, Hiattville, Fort Scott, Redfield and Pawnee Station to suffer electrical outages. Among the devastating results reported were downed power lines, fallen trees, small fires, parts of roofs blown away, and water damage.
The statement from Jeffers said several agencies are working together to clean up the trees and restore power to any local resident who suffered an electrical outage. The Bourbon County Public Works department is working diligently to remove and clear roads and bridges; Heartland REC is working to restore power; and Westar Electric is restoring power lines in Fort Scott.
Although residents in Bourbon County were alerted to the possibility of tornadic activity, and some damage was sustained, the local area was spared the biggest brunt of the storm.
About 18 miles south of Fort Scott, an entire town was robbed of electricity. At about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, residents in Arcadia took cover as winds close to 100 miles per hour began to force trees to hit the ground and power lines to snap. Arcadia resident Maureen Crain said she watched as transformers all over town began to explode. At one point, the wind was so strong that Crain said she was blown across her porch.
Arcadia resident Sheila Haynes said she ran outside and moved her car to the opposite side of the street just minutes before a tree smashed into the road where her car had been parked only moments before.
Arcadia City Superintendent Greg Sisney, who is also a firefighter, said he became aware of the possibility of inclement weather just minutes before the storm hit the small town. Acradia Assistant Fire Chief Mike Krieger explained that since the storm had hit Girard first, the communication system that would normally have warned emergency workers of dangerous weather was unusable.
Both Sisney and Krieger said when the storm hit, the 100-mile-per-hour winds came in a solid gust that lasted about 45 seconds. During the long blast of wind, the two men could hear several trees collapsing. After the long burst of wind, Sisney said the wind still remained strong, but it was not quite as devastating as the initial attack.
As soon as the storm receded, Sisney and Krieger said they jumped in the fire truck and began checking on the town's residents. Emergency workers closed all roads in and out of Arcadia for several hours due to the number of downed power lines. Sisney said it was important for emergency workers to evaluate the situation before anyone was allowed to travel in and out of the town. This also gave the workers a chance to clear away downed power lines and large trees that had fallen across the roads.
Thankfully, no one in town was injured during the disaster, Krieger said. However, several residents who rely on oxygen were unable to use their oxygen tanks due to the lack of electricity, he said.
According to a statement from the Crawford County Sheriff's Department, an emergency shelter that is equipped with power has been opened at the Arcadia Civic Center. Anyone who needs shelter from the heat or to make emergency phone calls to loved ones may do so at the center. In addition, those residents, who need oxygen may use the power at the facility to receive their medical regimens, Krieger said.
