Thousands still without power after Midwest storm

CNHI – Rex Guinn said his family lost thousands in food and spent nearly as much seeking shelter after recent storms made Tulsa look like a "war zone."

The former Tahlequah resident who lives in Tulsa said his household was impacted by the storms that left more than 200,000 Oklahomans without power as crews continued working to clean debris and restore power Wednesday.

"We estimate to have lost around $1,500 in food and will have spent around $700 in hotel and food for the time power has been off until we can restock our food," he said. "Oh, and insurance won't cover anything because the loss of power wasn't due to damage to our home."

Public Service Co. of Oklahoma said it expects to restore power to most of the impacted customers by the evening of Saturday, June 24. The company reported wind "ripped through the area over the weekend," causing more than 204,000 PSO customers to lose power.

A weather statement from the National Weather Service in Tulsa reported a squall line formed June 17 over northwestern Oklahoma. The NWS reported the storms quickly moved east before producing three tornados and severe thunderstorms with wind gusts higher than 100 mph.

"We have never issued a warning for 100 mph winds," Steve Piltz, meteorologist in charge at the Tulsa weather service office, said Monday. "That was a first."

Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat on June 20 became acting governor and signed an executive order to declare a state of emergency for eastern Oklahoma.

"I personally witnessed the damage and devastation of the storms as I drove back to Oklahoma City from Catoosa yesterday," said Treat on Tuesday, June 20.

Treat was notified he was acting governor by the governor's office around 1 p.m. Gov. Kevin Stitt and Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell were reportedly both out of state.

Treat's office reported he began reviewing the documents the governor's office prepared at 1:40 p.m. and signed it before 2 p.m. – prior to the governor's press release calling on the pro tem to sign the state of emergency. Treat said he acted immediately upon being informed he was acting governor.

According to the Oklahoma Constitution, when both the governor and lieutenant governor are out of state, the power then falls to the Senate president pro tempore.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond called for reform of certain emergency response procedures in coordinating with state offices "to ensure Oklahoma consumers receive the greatest possible protection."

"My fellow Oklahomans in the Tulsa area have been suffering a great deal and deserve the utmost focus and attention in times like these," Drummond said. "I hope the Governor and Legislature will work to ensure Oklahoma families and businesses don't experience similar delays when future disaster strikes."

Drummond said the emergency declaration triggered activation of the Emergency Price Stabilization Act, which prohibits price gouging an increase of more than 10 percent for the price of goods and services.

He encouraged citizens to watch for contractor fraud and to report suspected fraud by calling toll free 833-681-1895.

Multiple outlets reported several Tulsa residents went to Tahlequah to get fuel after the supply chain was halted, while others said they booked hotel rooms in Oklahoma City because Tulsa was booked.

Bilal Chaudhry, manager of X-Press Stop gas stations in Tahlequah, said he does not know about drivers from out of town getting fuel from Tahlequah sites. X-Press Stop No. 3 was only out of fuel for a few hours the morning of June 20, but a delivery was made to the other two X-Press stop sites the day prior to the storm.

"From [what] I know, the situation is resolved and they will be caught up by tomorrow morning," said Chaudhry.

Perkins resident Jonette Hatfield said her yard looked beautiful when she went to bed, but she woke up Sunday and started to pick up broken branches from her Bald Cypress tree and created a pile.

Colton Kimber, 32 of Perkins, cleaned up branches and debris strewn across his yard — then helped return a wind-blown trampoline in his yard to its owner.

Bob Ernst, the Perkins Police Chief and City Manager, said the community had a lot of tree damage, including some that fell onto structures.

"The residents and city workers have been working to get the roads open and brush taken care of," he said. "We will be picking up brush that is stacked at the curbside in the coming days."

The Stillwater and Perkins communities also lost power when the storms rolled through Saturday. Almost 20,000 lost power in Stillwater. There were still around 1,000 Stillwater customers without power by Sunday afternoon. The outage map showed no affected customers Monday.

Rob Hill, Director of Stillwater Emergency Management, said the Stillwater Electric Utility crews worked through the night and continue to repair broken distribution and transmission poles.

Lake Region Electric Cooperative — which covers parts of Cherokee, Wagoner, Muskogee, Rogers, Mayes, Adair, and Sequoyah — reported significant damage to electrical lines, including 32 broken poles and downed trees. Over 2,500 households were without power at 7 a.m. on June 18 and the company estimated power would be restored Monday.

Fort Gibson resident Tom Heathcock said he was asleep during the storms and woke up "and saw everything a mess."

"We didn't lose any power (but) my wife and I went to church, came home, started cleaning up," Heathcock said Monday.

He hauled hauled a trailer full of limbs into the Town of Fort Gibson brush lot Monday as did several homeowners and businesses around Muskogee County after clearing fallen tree limbs, uprooted trees and other debris from their yards.

City of Muskogee crews began cleaning debris from streets at 6 a.m. Sunday, said city spokeswoman Tera Shows.

Muskogee County Emergency Management director Jeff Smith said winds around Haskell got to at least 60 mph Saturday and a lot of trees were cleared the night of the storm.

"It was just a wide swath," Smith said. "There was no part of the county that wasn't affected."

Winds affected transformers, leaving hundreds without power through Monday morning, Smith said.

Muskogee County Commission Chairman Kenny Payne said crews probably removed around 12 trees blocking county roads.

Payne said Muskogee County Courthouse and county building were without power Monday and would reopen after restoring power and getting phones back online.

Harper County Emergency Management reported Saturday in a Facebook post damage to the roof of a community building, some power lines down in Laverne, damage to a school building and possible damage to Parkview Pointe assisted living center, tree, roof and vehicle damage, and no injuries.

Tahlequah Daily Press Executive Editor Kim Poindexter and reporter Skyler Hammons; McAlester News-Capital Editor Adrian O'Hanlon; Muskogee Phoenix reporter Cathy Spaulding; The Woodward News Editor Johnny McMahan; Claremore Progress reporter Clarice Doyle; and Ashlyn Huffman for the Stillwater News Press, contributed to this story.