KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Ryan is familiar with the rural communities surrounding the Kansas City metro. The Spicklers reached out to KSHB 41 to share their experience during this storm. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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Monday night's storms brought tornadoes that damaged numerous rural communities just outside the Kansas City metro.
The first reported damage in the KSHB 41 viewing area was in Ottawa, just after 7:30 p.m. Monday.
"All the sudden, the door just flew open," Eileen Sprickler recalled. "We were going to leave, and we thought we had time. And we looked out, and it was like no. The sky just changed really suddenly."
Eileen and her husband Barry were at a community meeting that was being hosted in Hope House, a local nonprofit food bank.
The Spicklers shared that it was only a matter of minutes from when they received the tornado warning to when someone yelled at them to get inside and take cover.
Moments later, a tornado touched down outside the building.
"When I walked in that door today, I didn’t know that tornado was going to be coming right to where we were," Barry Spickler said. "It was kind of unsettling to walk out and see there’s a 30-foot-tall tree on the side of the building that was now six feet tall with a lot of rubble next to it."
Barry shared some pictures of the aftermath with KSHB 41 News reporter Ryan Gamboa. The images showed shattered windows in the Hope House building, facades torn off neighboring buildings, and even Barry's car, which sustained damage to its side paneling and windows.
"What struck me was the amazing power of this very local event. The tornado didn’t affect everyone in town as far as property damage, but it chose specific places to hit," he said. "I mean, it looked like a war zone."
No injuries were reported in Ottawa, according to Police Chief Adam Weingartner.
Franklin County Undersheriff Kiel Lasswell told Gamboa that a few people suffered minor injuries in an isolated event during the storm out in the county.
"We have done a lot of planning and testing for responding to exercises just like this, so now we begin the plan to really help those that need us," Weingartner said. "We'll start to triage the businesses and making sure those are safe and secure. And then seeing what the next step of our operational periods are going to be to provide the support to the community that they really need."
While the Spickler home remains intact with no damage, Eileen and Barry spent the rest of the evening waiting for their power to flip back on.
Eileen said she realized how underprepared her home was for an event like this. She plans to add more batteries and electronic charging tools to her home in case she's put in a similar position again.
For now, they're looking to tomorrow and the community rebuilding efforts that will begin.
"It’s gonna take everybody to rebuild," she said. "There’s a sense of community here that you don’t find in larger cities. I would venture to say up in Kansas City, you might not, the way you do here. Community building is really, really important; that’s how you survive disasters."
As for what's next for them, they'll assess the damage to Barry's car in the morning and navigate the financial impacts that will have on their family.
They're just grateful to see another day.
"We’re sitting at home with battery-powered lights all over the place, but we’re safe, and the lights will come back on, power will be dealt with," Barry Spickler said. "We could’ve stayed and helped with the clean-up if we could, but that’s a tomorrow thing."
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