Storm Leaves Wreckage Trail In Downtown Sapulpa

The high wind and rain in downtown Sapulpa left several stores with damage Tuesday evening.

There's quite a cleanup underway on Dewey Street in the Sapulpa Merchants building - it's halfway through the block, and while the buildings on either side are OK, there's substantial damage inside.

When the roof peeled off, Diane Gloden was downstairs at her business, A Little Bit of County, in the back. She heard the noise - but didn't know what happened.

"So when I started coming up to the front of the store, I saw the water pouring in and the ceiling tiles were just immediately dropping," she said.

The water from upstairs came down and soaked just about everything. She's had help in to cover up what they can, but much of it is ruined.

Gloden said, "It is very overwhelming to see all of your stuff destroyed."

When the roof peeled back, the rain poured in - that's one problem, but the bigger problem is that there were a lot of bats and birds on the unused third floor, and now that manure has washed downstairs.

The cleanup will take much longer because of that.

Drone footage shot by Gary Box shows the old flat roof underneath and the white tin roof that was peeled back. Only about half of it is still up there.

“Most of the roof went flying,” Gloden said. “The guys and a county commissioner saw it go flying.”

Around the corner, Shirley Caudle was about to close up for the day when the storm blew in.

"And it started raining. We got a little bit of hail and all of a sudden the hail was rotating out in the street in a circle," she said.

The wind blew the door open, knocked out a window, and the rain poured in.

She's grateful there's only minor damage - nothing like the roof and water damage next door.

The building had several small shops inside, including a hair salon. They've moved out while the cleaning starts.

Up top, the roof work is just beginning too.