Hard-Hit Enid Cleans Up From Storm

Michael Konopasek, News 9

ENID, Oklahoma -- Oklahomans continued to clean up Tuesday night from Weatherford to Ponca City and everywhere in between.

Storms hit hard and fast Monday night toppling trees and knocking out power to tens of thousands of people. Enid was one of the hardest hit areas.

People have been working hard in Enid ever since Tuesday's sunrise. And there is plenty to clean up, from clearing debris, mending fences, restoring power, and just trying to get back to normal.

Throughout the day in Enid, neighbors were seen helping neighbors in true Oklahoma tradition.

"[People were] just coming out and helping the neighbors getting everything cleaned up," said Enid resident Hollie Schomaker.

The hard work had much of the debris cleared early in the day, but there is still plenty of work to do, including fixing many fences torn to the ground.

"This heavy duty heavy duty steel fence … it was just down, so that must have been some pretty big winds," said Ron Parnell of Enid.

Throughout Enid, trees were uprooted, keeping crews hard at work.

"It's been a crazy, busy day," said David Starks of Starks Tree Care.

Starks had been clearing downed trees since 7 a.m. Tuesday.

"There's been a lot of clean up going on," said Starks. "There's a lot left to do."

Winds as strong as 96 miles per hour are to blame for the damage.

"[When] it first started up, all you saw was red because it was kicking up all the dust," recalled Schomaker. "This area hasn't been hit by winds like this in a long time. We've been here six years and this is the first time we've had winds like this."

A good portion of Enid was without power Tuesday evening. OG&E says it doesn't expect to have power back on to everyone until Wednesday.