A violent storm ripped through southern Campbell County on Wednesday afternoon, tearing roofs from buildings, demolishing a vacant mobile home, flipping a camper upside down and requiring emergency crews to rescue four people from a damaged home.
Whether it was a tornado isn't official yet, but witnesses might have caught something on video, Campbell County Fire Marshal Stuart Burnham told Cowboy State Daily.
The storm struck near Rattlesnake Road and South Highway 59 shortly after noon, leaving pieces of roofs and other debris scattered across the rural landscape.
"Crews were called out to South Highway 59 near Rattlesnake Road (at about 12:36 p.m.) for a report of occupants stuck in a residence due to a possible tornado," Burnham said.
When firefighters arrived, Burnham said, crews were able to help the four people out of the house. All four were evaluated by emergency medical personnel, and Burnham said he did not believe anyone suffered significant injuries.
Firefighters then began working through the surrounding neighborhood, checking other damaged properties to make sure nobody else was trapped or hurt.
"We have not located anybody with significant injuries, fortunately," Burnham said.
By midafternoon, the response was beginning to wind down as officials turned their attention toward recovery.
Roofs Ripped Off
Photos from the area show metal roofing ripped from structures, debris scattered across fields and the camper thrown onto its side.
"The structure that sustained the most damage, yeah, the roof was removed from it," Burnham said. "There are multiple buildings with roofs that have been removed. There was a mobile home that was demolished as well. However, that mobile home was vacant."
Exactly how many properties were damaged was unknown Wednesday afternoon.
"Multiple," Burnham said.
Crews were still surveying the neighborhood, and some damage might not be discovered until property owners return home and inspect their land and buildings.
Powder River Energy Corp. was checking electrical infrastructure throughout the affected area.
The storm had moved out of Campbell County shortly after 2 p.m., and officials said there was no longer an immediate threat. South Highway 59 remained open.
The American Red Cross was also preparing to help.
Robby Gallob said the organization was "working to get into contact with the primary family affected."
Did A Tornado Touch Down?
The original emergency call reported a possible tornado, but nobody had called Campbell County's 911 center to report actually seeing a funnel, Burnham said.
Highway 59 is heavily traveled, making that absence notable.
"That's not to say that there wasn't one," Burnham said. "It just wasn't necessarily noticed."
Officials were beginning to find potential evidence Wednesday afternoon.
Burnham said responders were talking with people who had been in the area, and shortly before speaking with Cowboy State Daily he had watched a couple of videos taken during the storm.
"It looks like they may have had something on camera," he said.
Those videos could now help meteorologists piece together what happened.
The National Weather Service office in Rapid City, South Dakota, will make the official determination about whether a tornado touched down.
Campbell County officials were coordinating with NWS on a damage assessment, but Burnham didn't yet know when meteorologists would arrive.
A Familiar Date
Exactly 21 years earlier, on Aug. 12, 2005, one of Wyoming's deadliest tornadoes tore through Wright, about 30 miles south of Gillette.
Jim Konyn remembers that afternoon.
He wasn't in Wright, he was working at Midway Supply in Gillette, an oilfield supply company located off Lakeway Road.
Konyn and his coworkers happened to be outside when the sirens began.
From Gillette, they couldn't quite see the tornado, Konyn recalled, but they could see the storm looming in the distance.
The next day, Konyn had to travel through the Wright area.
"I've been here for a long time, and I just remember that day because there's a lot of damage," he said.
The tornado Konyn remembers touched down north of Wright before moving southeast into town and striking the Cottonwood Mobile Home Park.
The Wyoming State Climate Office said the F2 tornado killed two people and injured 13. About 40 mobile homes were destroyed.
Twenty-one years later, Konyn was again watching severe weather move across Campbell County.
Wednesday morning and early afternoon brought rain, lightning and thunder around Gillette, he said. Then a severe thunderstorm warning appeared for Campbell County.
Konyn recalled the warning tracking the storm from around Savageton toward the area between Gillette and Wright and the mines. He said the warning mentioned hail around the size of ping pong balls.
"They never said no tornado," he said. "They just said a severe storm."
Campbell County Tornadoes
Two summers ago, an EF2 tornado struck the North Antelope Rochelle Mine south of Gillette, flipping vehicles and empty railroad cars and tearing portions of roofs and walls from mine buildings.
Seven people were injured, but nobody was killed.
Then, just seven weeks ago, on June 22, another EF2 tornado crossed Campbell County between the Savageton and Wright areas.
The National Weather Service estimated its peak winds at 115 mph. It traveled nearly 13 miles, damaged a home and snapped more than a dozen power poles. No injuries or deaths were reported.
Now Campbell County is waiting to learn whether Aug. 12 will be added to that list.
For the moment, Burnham said the important news was that despite the destruction responders had not found anyone seriously hurt.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
