Storm Won't Stop Church

Wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour pummeled parts of the Tulsa area, causing damage and knocking out power.  At one point 17,000 homes lost electricity.  News On 6 anchor Craig Day reports a west Tulsa church sustained damage.

Strong winds ripped off parts of its roof.  But, church members say they won't let it stop them from holding services there this weekend.

When strong gusts whipped through west Tulsa, Easton Heights Baptist Church took a direct hit.  The roof was ripped off of about a third of the building.

"When I saw the entire roof just in the parking lot, I just couldn't hardly believe it," said church member Gary Evans.

SKYNEWS 6 got a clear view of the damage which was caused in only a matter of seconds.  The roof was practically rolled up and ended up in the parking lot below.

When those strong winds hit the church, it ripped off the roofing which is made of about three inches of foam.  It also took some of the guttering and some of the wood along with it.  But, the actual roof deck on top of the church building is made of concrete, and it's still in pretty good shape.

That will make repairing the roof easier, but damage is still estimated at $50,000 to $75,000.

"Pray and thank the Lord for what He's given us because, we're just so lucky," said church member Gary Evans.

Evans says despite the damage, the church is lucky because the storm could have just as easily hit on a Wednesday or Sunday when the building would have been full of people.  And, water damage from later rainstorms was minimal.

"It was dry when it happened and we had several church members come over and remove anything of any value over into the part of the building that wasn't affected," said church member Gary Evans.

The church has insurance coverage, and they say they'll make it through the cleanup and rebuilding.

"Through any circumstance, God will get us through," said church member Gary Evans.

The church expects to finish the cleanup work soon and can hold services in the part of the building that wasn't damaged.  That is if electric service is restored.