Campbell County officials are still assessing the extent of the damage done Friday afternoon when a tornado ripped through the Oriva Hills and Wrangler Estates subdivisions northwest of Gillette.
Sheriff Scott Matheny said all people in both affected areas have been accounted for. Two people in Oriva Hills were hurt, one of whom was transported to Campbell County Memorial Hospital for treatment. He said he doesn’t know how serious the injuries are. The other declined medical treatment.
A few homes were totally destroyed, including one on Cloud Peak Road, Matheny said.
At the Dry Fork Station power plant about 10 miles north of Gillette, the storm caused considerable wind and hail damage to vehicles, said David King, the county’s Emergency Management coordinator. The tornado did not touch down near the plant.
Warrior Road northeast of Gillette also received some damage, King said.
The twister touched down about 2 p.m. Friday, according to the National Weather Service office in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Campbell County emergency personnel followed the tornado’s path and went to every house in the affected areas to check for people, to offer help if needed and to assess damages, Matheny said. About 15 to 20 residences were affected in Oriva Hills and two buildings in Wrangler Estates.
The Red Cross is set up at the Sheriff’s Office and is available to provide help for anyone who needs it until 7 p.m. Friday. Red Cross Senior Disaster Program Manager Cindi Shank said her agency will be out at Oriva Hills starting at 9 a.m. Saturday to do damage assessment and offer assistance. The Red Cross can be reached at 307-682-7271.
The National Weather Service also will visit the scene to do its own investigation. King estimated the tornado would be classified as an F1, or second to lowest category on the Fujita Scale that determines tornado severity. The National Weather Service will make the final determination on the official severity, he said.
Law enforcement will be at the entrances and exits of the subdivision this weekend, logging everyone who comes and goes, King said.
“People’s stuff can be spread around and we don’t want anybody thinking it’s a yard sale,” King said.
Matheny said he expects emergency personnel will remain in the affected areas through the night and continue surveying the areas Saturday.
King said he had been monitoring the storm for a few hours before it hit, so it wasn’t a complete surprise for local officials. This is the first tornado to touch down in Campbell County since August 2016, when a tornado struck in the Freedom Hills subdivision a few miles east of Gillette.
The National Weather Service confirms a tornado touched down near the Gillette-Campbell County Airport, or about 9 miles north of the city and moved through the area at about 30 mph.
Tim Velder of Powder River Energy Corp. said there are about 900 meters down in the area of Oriva Hills and 16 power poles were damaged by the tornado.
He said crews are in the field working to make repairs and he urged people to avoid downed power lines. He said those whose power is out should expect to be without it throughout the night Friday.
Gillette-Campbell County Airport Manager Jay Lundell said the airport was undamaged. He said the tornado traveled to the west of the airport, wrapped to the north, then to the east and back north.
Power was out at the airport as of 3:10 p.m., leaving staff to process everything manually but the outage has not affected any flights, Lundell said.
by News Record Staff (2018, June 1)
