Thousands were without power and suffered damages due to a severe thunderstorm that crossed Central Oklahoma late in the evening last Tuesday Locals in the Pierce area had some severe damage after wind gusts up to 80 mph blasted through, causing roof damage, downed power lines and huge trees to topple.

In the old Pierce area, several families were affected by the storm which laid down multiple huge trees throughout the area. Rhema Ranch lost a lot of their older trees that were literally uprooted by the strong winds.

Several barns, buildings and homes lost parts of their roofs and siding as the winds laid down even the 10 ft. Johnson grass even with the ground.

Marilyn Belyeu, who has lived in the Pierce area since 1972, was devastated to see that an estimated 150 year old Oak tree had come down on top of her old house crashing through her childrens bedrooms and causing irrefutable damage. She had moved from Yukon with her husband Gerald and their children back in the 70s and had made lots of memories in her old home before moving to another home just down the road.

“My late husband and I built this home from the ground up and our family made a lot of memories in this home,” Marilyn said. “We loved the big, old trees that surrounded our acres, but I never dreamed that one of them would take out a third of my home when it blew down in this storm. Now all I have left are my memories.”

It took crews a couple days to cut and move several trees that fell across many roads and downed power lines, even across the state.

Residents are encouraged to report their storm damages at http://damage.ok.gov to help local and state authorities know the full impact of this storm.

City maintenance will be picking up limbs the week of July 8-12. Limbs must be cut in manageable pieces that can be loaded into a truck. Please place limbs by the street for crews to pick up.