Published: April 26, 2009 10:31 am         

OFFICIALS: Possible F1 tornado hit North Enid; home show vendors start cleanup

Staff reports

Officials believe a category F1 tornado was the first one to touch down in north Enid and Garfield County Saturday night, doing damage to the Chisholm Trail Expo Center. A stronger storm, possibly an F3, hit the Kremlin area in a second wave that came through early Sunday morning.

Crews are out in north Enid, northern Garfield County and Grant counties this morning assessing damage caused by tornado touchdowns and heavy rain late Saturday night and early Sunday morning.

The Chisholm Trail Expo Center received damage as a portion of the roof was ripped away in a tornado that touched down in north Enid around 9:50 p.m. Saturday. The Enid Home Show, which had about 350 vendors in the building, has been canceled today as vendors try to get in the building and clean up damage. Several exhibits were damaged by the falling debris from the roof and from rain. A garage door on the Pavilion side of the building was blown out, and exhibits inside that area were damaged.

Vendors participating in the Enid Home Show were meeting with Expo officials about 10 a.m. Sunday to discuss cleanup.

Jerry Ott, a member of the fairgrounds authority, said vendors would be allowed in a few at a time for cleanup. He said other than insulation, water and some blowing around, most of the vendors booths don’t appear to have much damage, he said.

“We’ve got a whole lot of insulation” on the floor,” he said. “It’s dirty and messy from the moisture, but as far as any bad damage, it doesn’t look too bad.”

Ott said vendors and others working in the building will wear goggles and masks for safety reasons.

He also reported that Enid city authorities and the Garfield county commissioners have been out to the Expo center helping assess damage. An insurance adjuster is on the way to put a dollar figure to the damage.

Garfield Co. Emergency Management Director Mike Honigsberg said the storm that touched down Saturday night appeared to be an F1 category with winds up to 110 mph.

“It was a very strong storm,” he said. “It doesn’t take a real big tornado to do the damage it did.”

Kremlin was also hit by a tornado, including a second wave of storms that blew through around 1:30 a.m.

Kremlin is experiencing downed power lines, roofs off houses and livestock killed. That stronger storm was possibly an F3 category, Honigsberg said.

A reporter in Kremlin also reported damage to the football stadium.

Law enforcement officials report some minor injuries from the first storm, but no additional injuries after the second storm.

Officials ask that onlookers stay away from the area where there is damage.

“Our biggest problem is people looking around wanting to see the damage,” Honigsberg said. “People driving the neighborhoods congest the streets for responding vehicles.”

As for other areas, officials were reporting some flooding around the Lahoma area. Several roads were closed initially due to high water, but have been reopened.

SH45 two miles west of the SH58 junction is reopen. SH8 from US 412 junction to the Alfalfa County line is reopen. SH11 from Medford east to the Kay County line is reopen a is US 64 from Nash to US 81 junction (4 corners) is reopen.

For further updates, check enidnews.com.