Families grapple with storm damage in Fort Gibson

Families are trying to wrap their minds around all the storm damage in Fort Gibson after a storm on Monday.

Witnessing the Aftermath

“It felt like everything happened so fast,” Ah-nee Christie-Vangen said.

She recalls the moment vividly:

“I just grabbed my kids and ran into the middle of our house, which is my closet,” Vangen said.

Having lived in Oklahoma her entire life, she has never experienced winds this strong.

Preparing for the Worst

“We already had put pillows and stuff like that to make it comfortable because I was kind of preparing just in case the sirens went off, but I didn’t hear a siren go off. We just heard a loud bang,” Vangen said.

That bang, she believes, was her fence ripping apart. Debris hit one of her vehicles, and her kids' trampoline went flying a few hundred yards.

A Close Call

Kacee Kennedy lives behind Ah-nee and witnessed the trampoline flying past her while sitting on her porch.

“My friend and all her kids were here. We were just standing on the front porch and it started raining so they took off in the house, and I was standing on the front porch with the door cracked and all of a sudden it was just like instant crazy wind and then a trampoline came flying through over here which is the one over in that tree,” Kennedy said.

Surprising Damage

Kacee describes the scene as scary. Her neighbor’s tree fell on the roof, and she was shocked to see all the damage left behind.

“After the storm, actually we walked out and was kind of looking at everything because I realized our stuff had blown, and so I walked back here and noticed that it fell, and there’s also some part of a shed in the tree,” Kennedy said.

Recovery Efforts Underway

The emergency management director says they have damage assessment teams looking for property damage. They will have chainsaw crews come through on Thursday to help clear away the debris.