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Violent storms hit area once again
With an estimated 200 downed trees in Bourbon County during Saturday morning's wind storm, Bourbon County Commissioners have issued a local declaration of disaster.
According to Bourbon County Emergency Preparedness Manager Keith Jeffers, at approximately 2 a.m. Saturday, the local area was hit by a Bow Echo, a severe storm which produced 70 mile an hour winds. The severe storm caused wide spread damage throughout the local city and county areas with Fort Scott being the hardest hit, Jeffers said.
Among the damage done by the storm was the loss of power to about 2,000 residences due to downed power lines. Area firefighters responded to several fires caused by the downed lines. According to Jeffers, the expertise and hard work of area firemen and both county and city public works crews, greatly helped during the storm's aftermath.
" Thank you to the Fort Scott and rural fire fighters for keeping our cit izens safe during the storm, and to the Fort Scott Public Works and Bourbon County Public Works for their excellent work in recovering form the damages," Jeffers said.
In addition, electric workers worked diligently to restore power to area residences, Jeffers said.
"All power has been restored to the county with 65 percent of those being restored on the evening of June 28, 2008 after 16 hours without power. By noon on Sunday, June 29, 2008, power had been restored to nearly all residents of the county," Jeffers said.
According to Fort Scott Public Works Director Eric Bailey, although damage was sustained throughout Bourbon County and in various places in the city, the majority of the damage was suf fered west of the 69 Bypass. Adding that the diligence of the Fort Scott and Bourbon County Public Works crews have helped to make clean- up faster.
Fort Scott Public Works Street Supervisor Todd Farrell said he and his crew began working about 2 a.m. on Saturday morning to begin the clean up process. About 8 a.m. Saturday, other public works departments joined in the effort to clean-up after the storm, Farrell said. After working until about 6:30 p. m. on Saturday clearing roads, the workers returned to action first thing Monday morning. According to Farrell, Monday morning found his workers at Gunn Park. While several of his employees cut and cleared trees and branches which had littered the park, other employees were making their way through Fort Scott with chippers. Farrell said cleaning Gunn Park in time to conduct the annual Freedom Fest this Friday is a top priority this week. He added that he and his crew will likely work a minimum of ten hours a day in order to have the park cleaned up in time for the Independence Day celebration. As part of the cleanup process, Farrell said he and his men will check all the trees in the park for lose limbs, removing any trees or limbs, which could be considered potentially hazardous. The majority of the damage at the park occurred from the west end dam to Shelter House one, Farrell said. Adding that although he plans to have the park cleaned up in time for Freedom Fest this weekend, he thought it would take about two or three weeks to complete clean- up of the entire town.
Fort Scott City Manager Joe Turner said because of the perseverance of public works crews, the fallen limbs will be removed as soon as possible.
" We're taking care of lose limbs as quickly as we can," Turner said.
According to Jeffers, although the local area experi enced several fires from downed power lines and trees, in addition to having about 15 houses, which received minor damage and two houses, which suffered major damage, there are no known injuries from the storm. Jeffers said he was proud of area residents this last weekend, adding that as he drove through town to inspect the damage, he saw neighbors helping neighbors clean up the debris.
It is important for citizens to realize that they are the first line of defense in any emergency, Jeffers said. Reiterating this, Bourbon County Chapter of the American Red Cross Executive Director, Whendi Martin said it is very important that area resi dents prepare themselves for disasters such as occurred on Saturday.
"We think it (disaster) isn't going to happen, and then it (disaster) happens," Martin said. Some of the people who were without electricity on Saturday were not prepared for it, Martin said. Adding that area residents were fortunate this time because most of the restaurants in town were able to maintain their electricity, which gave people a place to eat if they could not cook at home.
" We need to be prepared," Martin said. " We can't stop storms from happening, but we can be prepared."
Martin said in the event that a storm would cause town-wide devastation, it could take several days for emergency crews to get to everyone. For this reason, it is important for area residents to create Get-n-Go Kits. These kits should be comprised of anything that a person might need in an emergency such as work gloves, water, non- perishable food items, rain coats, dry socks, flashlights, batteries, a battery powered radio, a first aid kit and any medications that might be needed. Martin said it is essential for families to have enough food and water to sustain every family member for at least three days. Some families may want to create individual back packs for each member of the family; whereas, others may want to put everything in one kit. Martin explained that placing the kits in easily retrievable locations is just as important as what is placed in the kits. In addition, she said residents should remember to pack hand- held can openers in order to open canned food items in case of electrical outages.
Agreeing with Martin, Jeffers said preparation is extremely important, urging all area resi dents to create an emergency plan in preparation for future storms. Jeffers said he advises area residents to make sure their houses are ready for high winds. Adding that when the forecast calls for high winds, residents should locate any items in their yard that could be turned into a wind- blown missile, which is any item that can be picked up by the wind and thrown through the air. Securing these items, Jeffers said, could help prevent further damage. According to Jeffers, he noticed one such wind- blown missile during the aftermath of Saturday's storm, an inflatable swimming pool wrapped around a pole by Stew art Realty. He cautioned that children's toys and lawn chairs could be propelled into windows possibly causing injuries.
According to Martin, because of the storm on Saturday, the Red Cross has been providing shelter for two area families, whose houses were deemed unsafe structures. With the large number of power outages in town, Martin said the Red Cross decided to open a shelter for those who did not have electric ity. The shelter, which was set up at Buck Run Community Center, opened at 10: 30 a. m. on Saturday. However, Martin said, the shelter was closed at 2: 30 p. m. that same day due to lack of need.
Jeffers said it is important for area residents to refrain from calling 911 in severe weather situations unless it is an emer gency. Residents who have questions regarding unfavorable weather conditions should listen to their radios, watch local television channels or, Jeffers said, they can contact his office at (620) 223- 3800 ext. 46.
According to a City of Fort Scott press release, the City of Fort Scott will be picking up tree limbs and brush from the recent storm.
" The tree limbs should be placed at the curb by the street. The tree limbs should not block any fire hydrants or traffic signs. Pick- up will begin starting today ( Monday) until finished," the press release said.
In addition, the press release said area residents, who are able, can transport only tree limbs and brush to the City of Fort Scott brush dump site located on North Barbee. The dump site will be open from 7 a. m. until 7 p. m. daily until further notice, according to the press release. For questions regarding tree limb or brush removal, residents can contact Public Works at (620)223-4360.
Jeffers said residents who have not reported storm damage inflicted upon their homes should call him at ( 620) 223 3800 ext. 46 so that the information can be documented.