PRYOR, Okla. — Neighbors in part of Pyror spent their Memorial Day helping each other clean up what's left of their homes after a tornado hit near town.
2 News spoke with the Jenkins family, who are grateful their family is safe but are now missing half of their roof.
"Within about ten minutes, sure enough, you could hear everything rattling," said Johnnie Jenkins. "It got loud."
Jenkins and his family got into their storm shelter mere minutes before an EF3 tornado touched down.
"Maybe two minutes after that, the calm was there other than just a little bit of rain, we went out and seen all the, all the mess," he said.
Johnnie, his wife and stepson all stepped out of the shelter safely, which is what he said matters most.
But that mess they came out to was most of their roof.
"The bedroom is nothing but daylight shining in," he said. "I mean, it was like a, somebody opened the water faucets upstairs, and it was completely, I mean, water running everywhere."
Walking through their home after, they noticed one of their doors that had been shut was forced open by the powerful winds.
Miraculously, most of the family's farm animals made it through the ordeal unscathed.
Some backyard items, like their pool and trampoline, are nowhere to be found.
The house is an overwhelming sight on its own. Then you add in the village of friends, neighbors, and community members helping the Jenkins sort through it all.
Jenkins is a school resource officer for a Pryor elementary school. He said it's shocking just how much of his community rallied behind him.
"We've got the whole football team with coaches out here helping us with everything. Friends, family… I mean, it's been, it's been a huge blessing," he said.
While Jenkins is taken aback by the generosity, he said he would do the same thing for his neighbors.
"I would definitely do the same for them," he said.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- SUBSCRIBE on YouTube
