Firefighters Rescue Families Trapped By Downed Power Lines In Muskogee

Crews are working into the night to get roofs patched up in Muskogee, after high winds caused damage and knocked out the power to 10,000 people.

A strong line of storms hit Muskogee hard Thursday afternoon, causing roof damage to several businesses and knocking over power lines.

Two families got trapped underneath some of those power lines as high winds tore through East Hancock, just east of the Muskogee Turnpike.

Nicole Smith, said, "The lines just went down. It was really fast. I was just scared."

When crews got the lines de-energized, firefighters came to the rescue.

"We stood back and we managed to get phone numbers for everybody. We managed to get everybody called that were in the vehicles down there and told them not to get out of their vehicles," said Jefferson Bowman with the Muskogee Fire Department.

Julie Smith: “It was really scary. We slammed on our brakes. It was coming down at us. Just really glad it didn't hit us.”
Tony: “And you just knew to stay in your car?”
Smith: “Sparks were flying, so we just got there and we were waiting.”
Tony: “What's it like to finally get out?”
Smith: “It feels really good. Really good.”

7/14/2016 Related Story: Severe Storms, Dangerous Winds Rake Across Eastern Oklahoma

Other damage was also reported across Muskogee County.

The Hobby Lobby off the Shawnee Bypass lost a chunk of its roof. No injuries were reported, and crews quickly worked to clean up the damage.

There are still large sections of Okmulgee and York streets closed, with no traffic lights. Treat those intersections like four way stops, and don't drive over power lines.

OG&E outage numbers

Utility crews will be working around the clock to get the power back on and roads reopened.