BARNSDALL, Okla. — Cleanup progress is coming faster than expected after an EF-1 tornado hit the city of Barnsdall on April 1.
The city motto is "a little town with a big heart."
In fact, the city was called Bigheart until the early 1920s. Throughout the past two days, there’s been nothing but compassion and hard work at play.
Above all the damage that's been collected, blessings are what continue to be counted in its neighborhoods.
“They're grateful, and we are too. We're grateful to be able to help," said volunteer Bob Rowe with Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief.
Barnsdall resident Shandi Bassett said she feared the worst on April 1 when the tornado hit.
Here's a map of the tornados that hit the area:
"We were very lucky," Bassett said. "I mean, with the gas leak that night and power was out all night long and then the whole next day pretty much until about 2:30. But yeah, for nobody to be injured and this town to be in the condition it is in, we're lucky."
Insurance adjuster Jeff Mason said he was surprised to see the progress many neighbors already made with repairs.
"It looks like everybody's getting to work and getting everything put back together," Mason said. "They're not sitting around and looking at it. I see roofs getting roofed already and all that."
The disaster relief volunteers got to town on April 3.
"I knew we'd be getting a call pretty quick, and we were prepared," Rowe said. "We had all the equipment ready. We were just waiting for the call."
- Previous coverage >>> STORM DAMAGE: Power outages, damage after storms
A large ash tree leaning towards a house on Cedar Avenue was the third one Rowe's group cut down.
Bassett said it almost destroyed her landlord's house in the storm.
"It's caused so much damage to this house already. And that just topped it off right there," she added.
For Barnsdall, regrouping and rebuilding is the only way forward. Residents like Bassett are happy about that.
“I mean, we couldn't ask for much more. God is good."
Barnsdall's fire chief said the tornado damaged about 35 homes in total but clarified it "could have been so much worse."
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