ADA, Okla. — Preliminary reports show an EF-1 tornado touched down in Ada.
Storm damage spanned across much of the county, with the Union Valley Volunteer Fire Department in Stonewall being completely demolished.
“We were paged out to help with storm spotting and before any of us could get to the department, the storm rolled through," said Krystina Phillips.
Instead of being able to respond to calls for help after the weather took a turn for the worse, they were asking for help themselves.
From their station to their trucks to their gear, Union Valley is largely out of commission, said Phillips. She's been with the department since Oct. 2024, but has been a volunteer firefighter for years now.
“Man, its kind of hard to wrap your head around," she said. “This is one of the only ways for us in the unincorporated area of the county for us to serve our communities, so it’s really important at least for me personally to be able to be able to give back to the community.”
As Oklahoman's usually do, surrounding communities stepped up to help Union Valley.
Phillips said Stonewall, Happyland and other nearby fire departments - volunteer and paid - are taking on their calls while they figure out a path forward.
But it wasn't just other departments.
“Listen, we’ve had so many people stop by and offer to help and I think that truly is what being an Oklahoman is all about," said Phillips. "So we’re thankful for the support of our community and our neighboring towns, and we’ll get through this, it’ll just take us a little bit of time.”
The volunteer department's funding, Phillips said, comes largely from sales tax dollars. They also rely on donations.
While the path ahead is uncertain, Phillips and her team of fire brothers and sisters know one thing for certain.
“Help our fellow community members and we’ll all continue to live up to the Oklahoma standard," she said.
NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS
While sporadic, much of the damage was seen to properties in Ada.
Jerry Yarberry grew up there, and now lives on the north side of town. His 80 year old father still lives in the home he grew up in.
“By the time they blew the sirens, everything had hit," said Yarberry. "Nobody had no warning this morning and he said ‘I got two trees down on my house,’ so here I come.”
Thankfully his dad was unharmed in the storm, but their street was a complete mess.
Oklahoman's from across the state made the trip down to lend a hand.
“This one group of guys, we’ve known them for a while, they run a tree service, and we wouldn’t be nowhere close as far as we are without them," said Yarberry. "They are great guys, aren’t charging us a penny.”
Salomon Slay grew up in Ada. He was spared from the storm and any damage, but wanted to lend a hand to his neighbors who hadn't been so lucky.
2 News found him sawing up trees that had been taken down on homes.
“Well I was off work today, so I decided to come out and help," said Slay. “Just whenever I’ve needed help, people have helped me."
Damage is widespread across the community, layout out a long cleanup for many homes and businesses across town.
Aside from some damage to the roof, Yarberry's father's home is largely in tact. He said he's just grateful everyone is safe.
"Everything's good here," he said. "Just a little time, and we'll have her back up in shape."
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