TULSA — It has been one week since a derecho came through Tulsa. It has been a long week for Tulsa, but most of the work is behind us. 2 News Oklahoma is looking back at the week and showing how Green Country is making it back on top.
Saturday, June 17, started as a hot, sunny day, but after the clock struck midnight, Mother Nature had other plans.
Saturday night was loud. First, the tornado sirens sounded for a high-wind thunderstorm. That wind snapped trees, took down power lines, and caused transformers to explode.
Families were without lights and A/C. They waited for help. That help came in the form of hundreds of PSO crews. Nearly 4,000 line workers left their own families at home to restore power for other families. Wayne Green, with PSO, told 2 News Oklahoma that they felt the appreciation.
“The flaming emails hurt, but the vast majority of the messaging we’ve got is people who understand the enormity of the task,” Green said.
The temperatures shot up after the storm passed. Some people got in their cars for some A/C, but uprooted trees and downed power lines caused bad driving conditions.
“We’re on 41st, between Sandusky and Pittsburgh, and we have trees down, blocking both ends of our street,” said Millicent Robertson, a Tulsa homeowner.
People had no power, no air conditioning, dangerous driving conditions, messy lawns and damaged cars. That was just day one.
By day two, people couldn’t get gas. Gas stations lost power. Some lost their supply of gas. The few stations with power and gas had cars lined up.
“This location is busier than usual. So you have to either wait in a parking spot or wait in line a little bit,” said Skyler Oates, who was lucky enough to get gas for his car.
Still, Tulsans pushed through. They figured it out. Things started to look up. Demand for gas slowed, and people had places to cool off. By midweek, crews had cleaned up most major roads. And by the weekend, most houses had the lights on.
“Like we were driving through a neighborhood and I saw them all down, and I thought, is it like tree trimming day?” Josie Boulware said, "What’s happening? Why are all the trees down? That’s insane; I had no clue."
Boulware lives in Kansas. She’s in town for a concert. She and her boyfriend were exploring Tulsa when 2 News caught up with them.
“It is a big surprise. I had absolutely no idea, but it makes sense; I was wondering why all the trees were down and everything,” said Carson Bookhout, her boyfriend.
Tulsa’s worst storm in years struck just a week ago. A quick clean-up effort left two out-of-towners guessing what was up. The people of Green Country were ready, and they overcame. They’ll be ready next time.
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