A tornado tore through Battle Ground at about 11:20 a.m., sending emergency personnel to downed power lines and damage to buildings, trees and fences, according to Clark County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Fred Neiman. No injuries have been reported yet, he said.
Multiple power lines were down near Southeast Fourth Street and Southeast Grace Avenue, Clark County Fire & Rescue spokesman Tim Dawdy said.
Crews responded to heavy damage, the brunt of which was felt in the area surrounding South Parkway Avenue and Southwest Scotton Way, Neiman said, though crews were still taking stock.
Residents affected by the weather event who may need services from the American Red Cross can call them at 888-680-1455.
The tornado was ranked an EF1 by the Portland National Weather Service at about 5:15 p.m. Thursday, putting it on the lower end of the enhanced Fujita scale used to measure the intensity of tornadoes. EF1 tornadoes have wind speeds between 86 and 110 miles per hour.
An emergency operations center was activated so that police, fire and public works crews could coordinate their response and assess damage.
Two commercial buildings Real Deal Home Decor and IQ Food Market, both located on South Parkway, were damaged and deemed unsafe and so they were evacuated, according to Clark Regional Emergency Service.
Several houses damaged and a smell of natural gas near the Tukes Mountain area was reported and crews are on their way to investigate, CRESA said. The following streets are closed: Northeast 189th Street from state Highway 503 to Northeast 112th Avenue and South Parkway between Eaton and Rasmussen Boulevards.
The tornado was reported amid a significant weather advisory which warned of lightning, hail and winds with gusts of up to 45 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
Several Battle Ground Public Schools campuses did take a “shelter in place” response, which has since been lifted.
“CRESA said the winds are decreasing. We lifted our shelter in place at all schools,” said Sean Chavez, district spokesman.
Schools are resuming normal operations for students, except for outdoor activities. There will be no outdoor recess or PE, he said.
“We just released our AM kindergarten students. We sent a robocall out to parents. Release times are normal. South Parkway is closed in Battle Ground. We will reroute buses around that area. All of our students are safe. No damage was reported at any school campuses. We haven’t canceled any after-school activities.”
Power outages affected up to 5,000 people immediately after the storm struck but that most of those customers have since had their power restored, according to Clark Public Utilities. Erica Erland, spokeswoman for the the utilities company, anticipated that the 376 customers still without power as of 1 p.m. should see it restored soon.
“The tornado touched down in a residential area where most infrastructure was underground,” Erland said.
Clark Public Utilities reported that 3,429 customers in the Battle Ground and Hockinson area were without power as of 12:25 p.m. The utility also reported 74 customers without power in the Salmon Creek and Hazel Dell area.
Brayden Clark, 19, said he works the night shift at the local Walmart and was sleeping when his entire house started shaking.
“I looked out my window after waking up and saw debris flying everywhere,” he said. “A trampoline flew up in the air and I can’t find it.”
He said that a canoe he keeps stored in the back yard flew up and hit the side of his house before landing in his neighbor’s front yard. The wind has knocked trees into his fence too.
“Our whole yard is destroyed,” he said.
Colynn Cain was at in her home at the end of Northeast 14th Court off of Main Street when the tornado swept overhead, taking a few shingles and knocking a tree into her front yard. The tornado reportedly damaged a propane line in her neighbor’s yard, filling the cul de sac with the small of gas.
“I was wondering what the heck was going on,” Cain said of the tornado as she and her family left their home.
Nearby neighbors, who were either not home or did not wish to be identified by The Columbian, took a harder hit. A massive tree fell across two neighbors yards, landing into the roof of a home.
Amid the tornado response, a motor vehicle crash was reported at Northeast 182nd Avenue and Northeast 259th Street in Battle Ground, calling for heavy extrication. A large tree is also reportedly blocking 189th Street near state Highway 503.
The advisory, issued around 11:10 a.m., warned that the storm could bring dime-sized hail and gusts up to 45 mph and deadly lightning, McCoy said.
McCoy said tornadoes occur when thunder showers like those in the area meet the right kinds of winds.
“They’re pretty rare up here but we do get them,” she said.
Regionally, there was a tornado near Eugene last spring and one in Longview last fall.
The weather service warned people to stay inside and seek sturdy shelter until the storm passes.
Reporters Susan Parrish, Kaitlin Gillespie, Brooks Johnson and Assistant Metro Editor Mark Bowder contributed to this report.
Thursday’s tornado in Battle Ground joins a lengthening list of weather events that seem like they belong in Kansas, not the Pacific Northwest. But tornadoes in Clark County, while usually lacking the wallop of Midwest storms, are not unheard of here.
On Oct. 23, 2014, a tornado sliced through Longview and Kelso and left a six-mile trail of downed trees, shattered windows and missing roofs. No injuries were reported.
In March 2013, a small tornado selectively tore through one Hockinson barn but left no other damage.
The strong and long-lived tornado of January 2008 was different. It formed near Vancouver Lake and began its journey by destroying a crew boathouse and two trailers and strewing 50 boats across an 8-acre area there. Then the twister climbed up into Hazel Dell where it downed trees and utility poles and caused major damage to several homes and businesses. The wind speed of that storm was clocked at 90 to 110 mph. Amazingly, no one was injured.
But the most destructive tornado ever recorded in Washington or Oregon struck Vancouver in April 1972. That storm killed six people near Fourth Plain Boulevard and Andresen Road and caused millions of dollars in damage, including destroying Ogden Elementary School. It carved an eight-mile path of destruction with wind speeds as high as 200 mph.
-Scott Hewitt
