Officials say up to 1,200 Bartlesville homes damage by Monday's tornado
As of noon on Monday, the gray sky and calm conditions offered no hint of nature’s terrible plans for the evening.
After warning horns blared from downtown Bartlesville and elsewhere in the country, and while the scream of emergency vehicle sirens ripped through the rainy, lightning-illuminated night to answer calls, tragedy — embodied by a tornado — struck.
It left a swath of destruction damaging up to 1,200 homes in the city, including a large residential section southwest of Bartlesville High School, primarily centered on 22nd Street and Osage Street.
“The area was damaged pretty heavily,” Washington County Emergency Management Director Kary Cox told the E-E on Tuesday afternoon, adding some of the impact was more of a minor level with a few shingles blown off roofs, but much of the aftermath was devastating.
Cox said the intersection of Washington Boulevard (Highway 75) and Tuxedo Boulevard near the northern city limits, right south of the Q.T. convenience store, experienced significant damage.
Some of the businesses mentioned by Cox damaged by the twister included the Hampton Inn, Gan's Mall, Pennington Hills, Roman’s Outdoor Power Kubota Dealer, Tallgrass Motors Used Cars lot and Locke Plumbing Supply. Cox added he didn’t know if Hampton’s Inn was habitable.
In addition, several gas meters started leaking during the night, he added, which resulted in emergency crews evacuating some blocks on the southern end of town.
The county repeatedly sounded the tornado warning horns to give residents plenty of opportunity to take precautionary steps.
With Nathan Thompson as the anchorman, Bartlesville Radio provided full storm coverage from well before it reached Washington County until after the danger passed and the damage was done.
In addition, Andy Dossett of the Examiner-Enterprise offered live Facebook coverage of the aftermath.
Cox said the efforts of emergency management and local media to warn and inform people probably played a significant role in limiting casualties. As of late Tuesday afternoon, there were no reports of any deaths due to the storm, but Cox said several people suffered minor injuries.
The emergency management team worked Monday with the city and public works crews to begin the cleanup, and emergency management will continue to coordinate those efforts.
He also praised volunteer groups such as the Baptist Relief Group, Team Rubicon and others for helping the city and its residents begin to bounce back.
While Bartlesville is dealing with shattering repercussions from what Cox believes is the most harmful tornado that’s hit this area since before he arrived in 1995, residents and others in Green Country turned a large amount of their attention and prayers to Barnsdall.
The twister there turned deadly (one confirmed death as of Tuesday afternoon) and ravaged the historic community of about 1,000 residents where singer Anita Bryant was born, actor Clark Gable worked in his younger days in the oil business and sang in a quartet, and Joe Gilbert coached Barnsdall High sports for a record 66 years, up until he died in 2020, somewhere around age 88 to age 90.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Bartlesville worst tornado since '95: Emergency crews kept city safe
