Inside look at damages to historic Crawford County Courthouse
Parts of the courthouse roof were ripped off after an EF-1 tornado tore through Van Buren Monday night. Author: Bailey Devane Updated: 6:34 PM CDT May 7, 2021
VAN BUREN, Ark. Three tornados brought on widespread destruction this week in Crawford County.
The lawn of Crawford County Courthouse has been cleaned off and looks much better than it did earlier this week, but the cleanup efforts inside the courthouse are far from over.
“There was a relief when I rounded the street, and the clock tower was still there,” says Crawford County Judge Dennis Gilstrap.
Arkansas Department of Emergency Management personnel were in Crawford County assessing the damage Tuesday. There s no telling how long it s going to take, because there are so many trees down, shingles blown off roofs, things like that, said Crawford County Emergency Management Director Brad Thomas.
Just under 15,000 OG&E customers were still without power in the Fort Smith region on both sides of the Arkansas-Oklahoma border by 6 p.m. Tuesday as crews worked to reconnect customers.At its peak, there were about 31,000 OG&E customers with power outages.
Van Buren and Fort Smith school districts pivoted to virtual learning Tuesday due to power outages at several of their campuses. Alma Public Schools were not in session Tuesday due to roadways blocked and no electricity.
Workers Clear Roadways After Severe Storm System Slams Van Buren, Arkansas
Storms left many homes damaged and debris surrounding the Crawford County courthouse after a system moved through Van Buren Monday night.
The courthouse will be closed on Tuesday due to the damage to the roof and water inside the building. Officials say the storm had winds of up to 90 miles per hour and that the main street is covered by downed trees and power lines. The Crawford County Emergency Manager is asking residents to stay home as crews work to clear.
No injuries have been reported at this time and crews are hoping to keep everyone safe as they clean up.