Sand Springs Mobile Home Park Residents Still Picking Up Pieces

No one is watching the weather more closely than some people living in a Sand Springs mobile home park.

Before a tornado touched down at the River Oaks park in March, there were mobile homes lining the streets.

Now there are poles marking what used to be here.

Residents say a lot has been done, but looking out their windows and seeing what's left is depressing.

The streets in the River Oaks mobile home park are clear enough for kids to get back to their normal routine of playing outside. But not too far away is leftover debris from the March 25 tornado.

What's left isn't bothering these kids much, but it bothers Brenda "Scotty" Simpson.

“I really don't think I can go through anything like this again, I really don't,” Simpson said.

Aside from a destroyed storage shed and roof damage, her house held strong. It's what she sees around her that causes the most anxiety.

“I just see them steps there and the trailers gone and the people in the trailer are gone they're not here anymore,” she said. “Why can't they move these steps? It's just a constant reminder that they lost everything."

That coupled with continued rain, wind and storms isn't helping.

“The wind comes up a little bit, and I see trees blowing and hear the news a tornado here flooding here and I'm [thinking] ‘oh not again. Not again.'"

Those feelings are shared with many residents who still call this place home. In the past week, loose debris has been picked up by the wind, knocked out windows, causing additional home damage, and it even uprooted this tree.

There's never a way to truly track how Mother Nature chooses to operate, now Simpson hears people say "a tornado doesn't hit the same spot twice." But she isn't sure that's true. Now she keeps important documents and a packed bag of clothes nearby just in case she has to get out.

"Just pray we get this cleaned up and everyone gets their life back to normal and the fear is all gone,” she said.

Simpson said she's been living there for about 20 years, and this is the first time she's ever witnessed storms like the recent ones.

She said based on what she sees left over, she expects it to take three or four more months to get it cleared out.

Maybe then, people can find some sense of peace.