After EF4 tornado hits Barnsdall, Osage County Sheriff wants everyone to have somewhere to take cover

BARNSDALL, Okla. — After a deadly EF4 tornado ripped through Barnsdall, taking the lives of two people, Osage County Sheriff Eddie Virden wants a safe place for everyone to be able to take cover.

Virden said it’s going to be a long-term recovery and his goal is to find out where exactly people can go and possibly build a new shelter.

"Hopefully people would heed those weather warnings because in reality we are so small in this world,” Virden said.

Virden said the May 6 tornado was a wake-up call for him.

A night he will never forget.

"You know I responded, and my wife is a nurse practitioner, so she grabbed her medical bag too because we were afraid of the worst. We actually took the path of the tornado,” Virden said.

Virden said the damage in Barnsdall had a deep impact on him, as did the damage in the rest of the County.

Sadly, two people died when the tornado hit Barnsdall.

Now, Virden wants to take another step in community preparations.

He wants to map out exactly where each shelter is in the County, and if there is an area where people live that isn’t close to a shelter, he wants to build one.

He said it will not only help protect people during storms, but it will help them after too.

"So that's if someone is in the shelter and they get trapped by debris we would know exactly where that was so that we can get to them quickly,” Virden said.

Barnsdall Mayor Johhny Kelley is on board with the idea.

"In Barnsdall the only public shelter I know of at this time is at the new shelter we have at the high school football field. It’s not near big enough for everyone,” Kelley said.

Kelley said he would want to work with Virden to explore other opportunities for shelters to be added in Osage County.

"I think it’s a great thing. Anything we do with our tax dollars to ensure public safety I believe it’s a good investment,” Kelley said.

"If they prepare for an event, it saves us a lot of time and resources. So that's one thing that we're going to be working on,” Virden said.

As we have reported, Wayne Hogue was one of the two killed in the tornado. His funeral is set for May 25 at the Tuxedo Assembly of God Church in Bartlesville.