Winds Rip Apart Storage Buildings, Flip Travel Trailer In Wagoner

At a Wagoner storage facility Wednesday, all the stuff was still there, but because of strong winds, the building that used to surround it wasn't.

Wednesday, July 24th 2013, 4:55 pm

By: Craig Day


Storms caused damage as they moved east from Tulsa, splintering trees and ripping off roofs, even rolling a travel trailer.

Just like in several other areas, when these storms hit, they hit fast and they hit hard.

At a Wagoner storage facility Wednesday, all the stuff was still there, but because of strong winds, the building that used to surround it wasn't.

"The back wall, side walls, the overhead doors, the roof [were gone], but all the contents were just sitting there," said manager Bob Miller.

Miller lives in an apartment in the storage facility shop. He said, just after midnight, the weather became dangerous.

7/24/2013 Related Story: PSO Crews Working To Restore Power To Tens Of Thousands In Tulsa Area

"I saw the debris flying all over the place," Miller said.

Turns out, the debris was from several of the storage units being ripped apart.

Now, people are searching through their water logged belongings to see if anything can be saved.

"Maybe some fishing poles, lava lamp," said Wagoner County resident Joel Swenson.

The storm ripped roofs off other buildings, knocked down signs, splintered trees and downed power lines.

It even rolled a 28-foot travel trailer.

"The trailer was sitting over here and when it blew over, it caught the basketball goal, the only thing that kept it from hitting the house here," said Mike Steen.

But, by far, the worst damage is at the White Buffalo Storage business.

"Violent is the word I would say," Miller said.

"I can't believe we got hit like we did," Swenson said.

All of the 30 units have damage. About half are destroyed. They might be able to fix the rest, but aren't sure yet.

"As long as I've lived in Oklahoma, this came suddenly and with such velocity, it just caught me off guard," Miller said.

The Wagoner County Sheriff's Office says, altogether, there are about a half-dozen businesses in the area that have significant damage from the storms.

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