KDOT crews provide support after tornado damage

During clean-up efforts in the Linwood area, a huge tree is loaded in the KDOT truck.

KDOT crews cleaned up and hauled away debris and limbs.

By Kim Stich

Informational Specialist

A May 28 tornado did significant damage in Douglas and Leavenworth counties, and KDOT crews are assisting with emergency and clean-up responses.

The National Weather Service reported the tornado on the ground in Douglas County at 6 p.m. and in Leavenworth County at K-32 about 6:25 p.m.

Crews were on the scene in Lawrence soon after as high winds overturned a semi-truck on U.S. 59 south of Lawrence, closing the highway for a short time.

KDOT crews block the main road off U.S. 59 to the area that was

damaged south of Lawrence.

Lawrence Highway Maintenance Supervisor Mark Mestagh said crew members worked with law enforcement and emergency responders the rest of the night and for several days afterwards in blocking roads to keep turn lanes and ramps closed to the public so that utility companies and other clean-up crews could work. They are continuing efforts there for the next week or so.

Mestagh said the tornado passed about a quarter-mile from the Subarea shop. High winds lifted a crash attenuator over the shop and it ended up 700 feet away on the other side of the lot. One corner of the roof was peeled up. In addition, five message boards were destroyed and brine tanks were knocked over, he said.



The tornado came within a quarter-mile of the complex.

Five message boards were blown over and destroyed at the

Lawrence Subarea Office. In addition, an attenuator was carried

over the building and landed about 700 feet away. 

Bonner Springs Superintendent Peter Wiehe was in Linwood by 6:50 p.m. with crew members on their way with equipment loaders, backhoes and other vehicles.

"We were on it as quick as we could get there, probably a little too quick as the weather was still very bad out," he said.

Wiehe said there was a lot of hand work the first night cutting trees off the road with chain saws. Two crew members had to hold lights as they worked into the evening.

Efforts will continue in the Linwood area and on K-32 for the next couple weeks. Wiehe said he talked with Linwood Mayor Brian Christenson and his wife during clean-up efforts, "and they said we are doing a great job and thanked us for the work we have done."

Tree limbs are cleared away in Leavenworth County.

Motoring Monday - Codell tornadoes

A church in Codell was destroyed in the May 20, 1918, tornado.

May 20 may be just another day to most people, but it’s a date that will be forever etched into the history of one small Kansas town.

Starting in 1916, the town of Codell along K-18 in Rooks County would be struck by tornadoes not once, not twice, but three times in three consecutive years – all on May 20.

The first tornado in 1916 touched down in late afternoon about 3 miles south of Codell and traveled northeast for roughly 15 miles, just grazing the east edge of town. Several homes and farmsteads were damaged, and a few residents sustained injuries - however no one was killed. It would later be rated as an F2 storm on the Fujita Tornado Damage Scale.

The high school in Codell was also demolished in the 1918 tornado.

The 1917 storm was another late afternoon event, this time affecting the west edge of town. A stronger storm at an F3, the twister caused more damage than the previous year. But no lives were lost and few were injured. At the time, it was considered one of the most extensive tornadoes to hit the area, until disaster would strike again the following year.

A sculpture commemorates the three tornadoes that hit Codell.

Estimated at an F4 with wind speeds of more than 200 mph, the 1918 tornado was by far the largest and most destructive of the three. The twister spanned a path from Trego County to Osborne County, traveling approximately 60 miles over a six-hour period. Unlike the other storms, which hit during the late afternoon and early evening hours, the 1918 storm struck after dark. The tornado tore a path down the middle of town, destroying a majority of its homes, businesses, churches and the school. Ten people were killed and dozens more injured. After three twisters in three consecutive years, residents and businesses were hesitant to rebuild. The town would never fully recover and currently has a population of less than 100 residents.

May 20 became known as Cyclone Day in Codell with residents keeping an eye on the sky on that day for years to come. In 2018, on the 100-year anniversary of the last storm, a sculpture depicting a tornado was erected at the former high school to commemorate the trio of twisters.

For more information on the Codell tornadoes and to read a first-hand account of the 1918 storm, visit www.rookscounty.net/codell.

 

 

KDOT crews assisted with Eureka tornado clean up

KDOT crews assist with picking up debris left behind from a tornado that moved through Eureka. 

An EF-3 tornado hit the town of Eureka on June 26 causing damage to the high school, houses, trees, power lines and the Kansas Department of Transportation Eureka Subarea office.

KDOT Area offices in El Dorado, Iola and Independence sent numerous employees, several dump trucks, message boards, loaders, barricades, a track hoe and a skid steer to assist in the clean-up efforts.

KDOT storage buildings sustained heavy damage from the tornado. A complete renovation to these buildings is scheduled for later this year. 

After helping the citizens of Eureka with clean-up efforts KDOT employees began cleaning and clearing their subarea maintenance office at Eureka. On a hot and muggy day in early July, several crew members could be seen sweeping away debris and relocating various objects that the twister’s high winds had flung far and wide on the grounds.

Equipment Operator Senior Roy Junkersfeld (right) and Equipment Operator Billy Jones (left) pick up debris left behind at the Eureka Subarea.

This year’s tornado was the second to strike Eureka in a two-year period. Eight people were injured. Seventy-eight residences either sustained significant damage or were completely destroyed. The tornado inflicted considerable damage on the subarea’s chemical storage and equipment storage buildings, wash bay, salt dome and office. Sultry daytime temperatures in the aftermath of the tornado, combined with long hours of community clean-up and little sleep, left the crew members “just exhausted,” said Subarea Supervisor Jeff Marks. Adding more hardship to conditions was a two-day power outage in the city.

State Transportation Engineer Catherine Patrick and Operations Director Larry Thompson visit Eureka to survey the tornado damage of the cold storage building. 

Yet thanks to dedicated KDOT staff, the bruised and battered subarea continues to carry out its work. On a brighter note, a complete renovation of the subarea is scheduled for later this year. Director of Operations Larry Thompson said that he was impressed with the clean up efforts.  

"Immediately after the tornado passed, the Eureka Subarea Supervisor Jeff Marks, walked into the shop area – because he could not drive due to downed power lines and trees – and started securing the site," Thompson said.  "This included shutting off the gas supply which was leaking due to a broken pipe and dealing with an oil spill to keep it out of the local waterway. Then as the crew trickled in, the Citywide clean up efforts began. When we were there on Friday, the Eureka crew and equipment from District 4 shops and District 5 were actively clearing the streets and hauling debris. Just like that was normal business and it certainly was not normal."

KDOT crew members clean up after a tornado damaged the Eureka Subarea. 

After the tornado struck, KDOT closed a 21-mile section of U.S. 54 for several hours. With power lines down, KDOT employees couldn’t access the Eureka shop until June 28, Iola Superintendent Derrick Shannon said. 

Throwback Thursday

Since this is Severe Weather Awareness Week, today's Throwback Thursday pictures are from the aftermath of the 1973 tornado in Linn, Kan.  Multiple tornadoes, including an F4 and three strong F3s struck the state that day, killing one person and injuring 46. The combined length of the tornado tracks was around 150 miles and they caused around $6 million in damage.  Towns that were hit particularly hard were Bennington, Clay Center, New Cambria, Linn and Niles.