Okla. Governor tours devastation

Rescue crews and local law enforcement still have portions of tornado-ravaged Picher, Okla., cordoned off due to power lines and debris as others sift through the significant damage caused by strong storms on Saturday night.

Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry toured the northwest Oklahoma town on Sunday afternoon and said the damage was unlike anything he had seen.

“It is about the worst that I have seen,” Henry said. “The one in Oklahoma City (1999) was bad, but this here is one of the worst.”

In Missouri, crews continued to search a 12-mile-long path of damage caused by a tornado that killed 15 total. Of those 14, 13 were reportedly killed in Newton County, along with one in Jasper County and another in Barry County. The Missouri tornado, according to Newton County officials, stayed on the ground for about 12 miles.

Initial estimates from Newton County were that 50 homes were damaged or destroyed due to the storm.

As of Sunday afternoon in Picher, there were six confirmed dead with one that was unconfirmed after a tornado that the National Weather Service in Tulsa, Okla., officially rated as an EF4 tornado. An EF4 tornado has winds between 166 mph and 200 mph.

Since the Enhanced Fujita Scale was introduced in Feb. 2007, the only tornado listed as an EF5 was the Greensburg tornado.

Maj. Gen. Bud Wyatt, adjutant general of the Oklahoma Air and Army National Guard, said there were at least two still missing.

“Those are the only ones that the Emergency Management knows about and there may be others that they are unaware of,” Wyatt said.

The section of Picher that remains closed to traffic is in the southwest corner of the town and officials say it is where the worst of the damage is located.

“We are making sure that the only people coming in are property owners with legitimate business there,” Wyatt said.

Officials were not sure when that section would be re-opened to regular traffic.

“It is their town to make sure that the health and safety risks are taken care of,” said Oklahoma State Director of Emergency Management Albert Ashwood. “I am sure that they know people need to get back in and sort through the things that they might have left.”

As Henry toured the damaged areas in the southeast section of Picher, he told residents that the state is continuing to work to make sure that assistance continues to flow into the town with a population of 800.

Wyatt said 20 members of the National Guard were stationed in and around Picher with a quick reaction force of an additional 150 soldiers on standby in Oklahoma City.

“We are ready to increase any help if it is needed,” Wyatt said. “It is going to take a long time to pick up all of the debris, but most of it has been cleared off the streets. I think the need for security will start to go down here in the near future.”

Henry said he spoke with President Bush and the White House has pledged federal resources as soon as possible.

The main question asked of Henry by residents was of the Tar Creek Superfund buyout in which the Environmental Protection Agency would pay Picher residents to relocate due to lead contamination of the area including the adjoining Tar Creek.

Of the 300 offers made by the EPA, 272 have been accepted by Picher residents.

“The buyout will continue as planned,” Henry said. “But this just adds insult to injury.”

But now, the concentration is on sifting through damaged homes. Ashwood said a damage assessment team from FEMA would be in Picher on Monday to oversee the damage.

“We are going to have some rough days ahead,” Henry said. “But we have to keep our chins up and we are all in it together.”

Matthew Clark can be reached at Matthew.Clark@morningsun.net or at 231-2600, ext. 140.