Oologah Band Firework Fundraiser In Jeopardy After Storm Destroys Tent

One of the biggest fundraisers for the Oologah High School Band is in jeopardy after those storms destroyed their firework tent. The heavy rains from that storm left a lot of the fireworks waterlogged and unsellable.

As rain pours down, there's a rush to salvage thousands of dollars worth of fireworks early this morning. But even hours later, the cleanup job continues underneath remnants of a destroyed tent.

"Some of them are wet, but we're just trying to get it all sorted," says Oologah Band Drum Major Eli McElroy.

McElroy and other members of the band are now under the hot sun, trying to make sense of what can be saved.

"Fireworks and water aren't a great combination because ya know they don't work after that." 

With the 4th of July just around the corner, this is a huge blow to band fundraising efforts. 

"This is probably the biggest fundraiser for our Oologah band boosters and band," says Band Director Jon Matthews.

He says they usually bring in six to ten thousand dollars selling fireworks, but he says there is a little bit of good news. 

"Luckily the company we get them from does help us out as far as they'll give us credit for the damaged fireworks," says Matthews.

Matthews says despite the destruction, he's proud of his students and their parents for not hesitating to bring some order to the chaos.

"Get everything cleaned up hopefully we can start over," says one band parent.

"One of the things I say for my band is we are family, and this just proves that," says Matthews.

That family bond is why Eli and his band can move past this setback. 

"Came out here to just get it done ... if I can make it better, I might as well help," says McElroy.

The band Director says they'll try to have something back up by this weekend, and if they do, it will be with brand-new, dry fireworks.