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A large pole barn, located on Skeels Road in western Mercer County, sits destroyed after a tornado touched down nearby.
Multiple tornadoes are suspected to have touched down in the area, with a report of as many as four in Auglaize County, resulting in at least a handful of injuries, heavy damage to barns, homes and other structures and a citywide power outage in Celina.
Auglaize County Emergency Management Agency Director Troy Anderson said a tornado was reported in Mercer County and three others in Auglaize County on Thursday evening as part of fast-moving, potent storm front that also unleashed torrential rains.
One of the tornadoes started near Rockford, moved into Auglaize County north of St. Marys, crossed over U.S. Route 33 at some point and combined with another before hitting the Glacier Hills Campground south of Wapakoneta, according to Anderson.
He noted the tornado was a quarter-mile wide.
A heavily damaged house located at 7636 State Route 49.
National Weather Service in Wilmington was assessing damage and other data but won't have an official report until sometime today, according to NWS meteorologist Jim Lott.
"It looks like it went through Mercer to Auglaize and then into Logan County," he said.
Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey said two people were injured at Grand Manor Mobile Home Park in Celina. He didn't think the injuries were life-threatening.
"Information is still pretty sketchy, but the fire departments have searched all the areas that were damaged that they could find, searched the houses, made sure everybody was OK," said Mercer County EMA Director Mike Robbins.
As of 9 p.m., Anderson said first responders were still searching the Glacier Hills Campground. He said they had found one person injured who was ambulatory and transported from the scene.
"We just pulled two more from that house over there," he said, pointing to an overturned camper or mobile home just inside the entrance.
Elsewhere, he said there were some minor injuries from cars that had flipped on the four-lane stretch of U.S. Route 33.
Severe thunderstorms swept through New Knoxville on Thursday night. There was high winds and hail about a quarter of an inch reported by a Marathon gas station attendant who wished to remain anonymous.
An RJ Corman engine house was damaged on Albers Road.
In Mercer County, storms inflicted significant structural damage to the R.J. Corman distribution center and Maverick Mechanical Installations on Albers Road, Victorum Learning Center on Staeger Road and Menards on Havemann Road, Grey said.
Celina Mayor Jeff Hazel said about 10 transmission poles were knocked down at the fairgrounds and another eight or nine at Eastview Park, plunging the city into darkness.
Though crews were promptly dispatched to several sites and expected to work through the night, electricity may not be fully restored until the end of the business day today. Power will likely return in phases, Hazel said.
A small barn located at 7589 Wabash Road lies destroyed after a tornado touched down nearby.
Trees and power lines were toppled and roofs torn off structures to the north and west of Celina, Grey said. Two barns northwest of Celina near Chattanooga are demolished.
There were reports of a house, barn and vehicles being completely destroyed on Four Turkey Road east of Celina.
"We did see the storm over our (Celina) office and it was definitely rotating, it just wasn't over the ground," Robbins said. "It was pretty impressive at that point."
Based on reports and observations, Robbins said he highly suspects a tornado touched down in parts of west Mercer County near State Route 49 and Carmel Church Road.
Debris scatters the field and properties along State Route 49 near Skeels Road.
A tornado laid to waste a large pole barn on a 47-acre farm on Skeels Road. Caleb Heitkamp, who rents the house on the property, said he and his brother-in-law saw the tornado spiral down from the sky and quickly work its way in their direction.
"We took off running for the pit (underneath a camper) and as we were diving for the pit, the roof was coming off," he said. "We were getting pelted with cellulose insulation and as we were running ,that's all you could smell and taste."
He and his brother-in-law escaped injury.
"It was loud and I was scared. That's all I can say," he said. "Very windy and like metal ripping."
Tom Knapke said his sons and grandson were out feeding the 600 to 700 cattle on his farm at 7610 Wabash Road when they suddenly came rushing to the house.
"We just got down the basement and we heard it go across. It did a hell of a number," Knapke said of the tornado.
No one was injured.
The cattle were unharmed but the tornado brought down a 60-by-180-foot barn, ripped off siding from the house and damaged other structures on the property, Knapke said.
A Chattanooga firefighter driving by in a truck stopped to see if Knapke or his family needed any resources. He and Knapke talked about a damaged property on State Route 49, noting 2,000 hogs had to be relocated for the night.
"I don't know what people's plans are but if the community pitches in and helps move hogs later on tonight, I don't know," the firefighter said.
"All you have to do is just holler," Knapke quickly fired back.
"We're all in this together right now," the fireman assured him.
Robbins later confirmed that truck companies were helping transport the hogs to another location.
A piece of debris hangs from a power line along Wabash Road in Celina.
A boat was blown into a farm field.
A heavily damaged house located at 7636 State Route 49.
One of the buildings at the RJ Corman railroad facility on Albers Road, near Riley Road and State Route 29, was decimated.
