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Several machine sheds and hay storage buildings were destroyed at this dairy farm near the intersection of Fox and Meiring roads Friday afternoon when a tornado touched down near Fort Recovery. The house and main cow barn are still standing.
By WILLIAM KINCAID
and SYDNEY ALBERT
newsdept@dailystandard.com
FORT RECOVERY - A tornado touched down on a stretch of Fort Recovery-Minster Road on Friday, wreaking havoc on homes and structures, tearing off roofs, toppling trees and utility poles and causing power outages that stretched up to Coldwater.
A severe thunderstorm warning was issued by the National Weather Service shortly before 4 p.m., and a tornado watch followed soon after at around 4:09 p.m. Multiple funnel clouds were reported, but initial reports indicated at least one confirmed tornado had touched down in the area of Fort Recovery-Minster Road between Erastus Durbin and Burrville roads, said Mercer County Emergency Management Agency Director Mike Robbins.
The National Weather Service of Wilmington also reported Friday afternoon that a radar-confirmed tornado had moved into Mercer County, and urged people to find shelter.
No injuries requiring emergency medical transport were reported in the hours immediately following the storm, and first responders found no injured parties in the affected area by 7:30 p.m., Robbins said. However, several homes and livestock barns in the southwestern and south central areas of the county had been damaged, some of them severely.
This building at the Fort Recovery Lumber Company was damaged Friday afternoon.
On Wabash Road, the tornado caused significant damage to one of Fort Recovery Lumber's storage buildings and devastated a nearby turkey house owned by Chuck Kaiser. No injuries were reporter at either property.
"We were all in the office. You could hear it. You could kind of hear the classic, it sounds like a train motor or train engine" said Brian Bubp, president of Fort Recovery Lumber. "It happened so fast."
Ten minutes earlier, employees had spotted a funnel cloud.
"Before it hit here we could see a funnel cloud to the north," he said.
The tornado, Bubp noted, was accompanied by heavy rain and hail. Aside from the storage building, the rest of the property emerged relatively unscathed.
"The rest of the facility is fine," he noted.
Kaiser stood surveying, seemingly in disbelief, a wrecked building containing 11,000 turkeys. Some of the birds likely perished after a section of the building collapsed during the storm.
"It's shot. I'm not sure it's fixable," he said.
Southwest Mercer Fire District personnel responded to the scene on a report of a turkey barn fire.
"It's smouldering in here but no open flames," Kaiser pointed out, noting the shavings on the floor probably caught fire.
Kaiser didn't witness the tornado but said he and his grandchildren, knowing a storm was imminent, left the site about 15 minutes before it destroyed the turkey barn.
"I was at my house right down the road. We had just got out of here. I just took my three grandkids home," he said. "Nobody's hurt. That's the main thing."
Leo and Dorothy Hart, who live on Fort Recovery-Minster Road, took shelter in their basement after receiving a call from their son about a possible tornado heading their way.
Everything got so quiet," Dorothy Hart said.
They emerged to find the roof of their storage building had collapsed. Family members could be seen attempting to remove tractors and other equipment from the storage building.
A tornado that touched down near Fort Recovery on Friday took down power lines and toppled trees along St. Peter Road.
Authorities closed a large stretch of Fort Recovery-Minster Road from St. Peter Road to Burrville Road where the tornado damaged several properties and downed power lines. People could be seen assessing damage and clearing debris littering fields.
Josh and Alyssa Goubeau from St. Marys were out checking on a friend when their vehicle was buffeted by hail.
"We didn't get to see (the tornado) but we came right at the tail end of it," Josh Goubeau said. "We had to turn around. We thought (the hail) was going to break the windshield."
Robbins reported between five and seven homes had been damaged, and while first responders were still in the process of talking with the affected families, most had extended family to stay with.
Marty Schmitt, a resident of southern Mercer County, spent time rounding up cattle after the storm, who'd been running loose after their barn was destroyed. The cattle reportedly were being loaded up and sent to another property to be housed.
The exact path of the tornado - or if there was more than one - will be determined by National Weather Service officials. However, Robbins noted tree damage indicating a possible touchdown was observed on Park Road about 1/2 mile east of Stateline Road. There was damage on Burrville Road, south of Fort Recovery-Minster Road, and along the south of Fort Recovery-Minster Road. The last of the damage observed reportedly was in the area of Fox and Wourms roads.
Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey also reported trees and power lines had fallen across roadways in some places. Fire and emergency medical departments from across the county, as well as law enforcement, were working together immediately following the storm to assess the damage and search for anyone who may have been injured and in need of help.
A shed and barn both lost their roofs at this farm on Fort Recovery-Minster Road Friday. Part of the metal roof was blown off the house.
Citizens were asked to stay home to allow first responders an easier time responding to the affected area and cleaning up debris.
No severe damage was seen in the village of Fort Recovery, but village administrator Randy Diller confirmed the power had been knocked out by the storm.
Parts of Coldwater also lost power, with village administrator Eric Thomas estimating power had been lost around 4:15 p.m. Thomas also reported parts of the village had gotten small hail. Besides some possible minor damage from the hail and wind, however, no severe damage was experienced in the village, Diller said.
We also have a photo album and a map.
Chuck Kaiser's turkey barn was destroyed when a tornado touched down near Fort Recovery Friday.
This field of yellowing wheat has a flattened swath through it. Fort Recovery Lumber, visible in the background, lost the roofs of several buildings.
