Some Big Stone Gap, Va., Residents Question Lack Of Information In Tornado's Wake

BIG STONE GAP, Va. – Residents began a third day of clean-up and recovery after Tuesday’s twister demolished homes, toppled historic trees and left residents of this Wise County town in the dark in more ways than just power outages.

Recovery workers are also fighting the weather now as soggy soil is hindering heavy equipment use and slowing clean-up efforts. A forecast for snow has some concerned that damaged homes could collapse under the weight of a heavy snow or from the winds that often accompany such weather.

Some residents, including former mayor Bill Cole, are asking why information was not readily available in the hours following the devastation. Cole said earlier this week he is angry local radio stations were not broadcasting updates for those whose only source of information was battery-powered radios.

Cole said Wednesday that he twisted radio dials in an attempt to learn more about what hit Big Stone Gap but was unable to get any information.

Many of the local radio stations use recorded music programs and Cole wondered why someone couldn’t have "flipped a switch" and alerted residents that something serious happened in Big Stone Gap.

Martha Jones, a manager with WAXM and its sister station WLSD, said Thursday she was somewhat surprised with comments regarding the updates. She said WAXM, the FM station, carried at least three updates Tuesday night following what was then only known as a strong storm. The station broadcasted hours of information on Wednesday as well, she said.

As for WLSD, the AM station, it signs off the air at 6 p.m. each evening and would not have been much help in broadcasting information because what has since been classified as an EF-1 tornado happened one hour before the station went off the air.

"I live in Big Stone Gap," Jones said. "I was in Norton when the storm hit. It happened really, really fast. We did get a call from someone who said a tornado was in Big Stone Gap, but we only had that one person call us, and we have to substantiate things like that."

Jones said WAXM received no calls from emergency officials on Tuesday night, so station employees could only break into normal programming with basic information that some type of weather event had happened in Big Stone Gap.

The station’s staff asked listeners to call in with information, she said.

"We didn’t have very many people call in at all," she said. "We were reporting a weather situation and asked people to call in the situation."

Jones said station employees also tried to call officials in Big Stone Gap after the tornado struck.

"We couldn’t get through to anybody in Big Stone Gap," she said, adding that land-line phones were down and cell phone service was spotty.

"We couldn’t even tell our listeners anything because nobody could tell us anything," she said.

Jones said the stations’ staff worked hard on Wednesday to get out news about recovery efforts and to update listeners on information they needed to know. Local businesses and others phoned often during the day with useful information the stations were able to spread to listeners, she said.

Karen Mullins, Wise County’s attorney and spokeswoman for the county’s emergency response team, said Thursday the minutes and hours after the tornado were chaotic but law enforcement, emergency workers and local officials acted quickly.

Mullins said county officials declared an emergency situation immediately, then worked to get news of the event onto the county’s governmental television station. The county’s reverse 911 system also was used to get information to residents who still had telephone service, she said.

The tornado was the second in Wise County in about 50 years. Responding to such an unexpected event was frustrating at times, Mullins said. Crews used two-way radios to communicate.

"We could hear [town manager] George Polly on the radio but we could not hook up with him," she said.

Mullins said the county’s review of the response, which will come sometime later, will look at the communication situation, as well as other aspects of the response that could be improved.

Many procedures worked well shortly after the tornado, she said. Social Services staff was activated and Mountain Empire Older Citizens agency provided buses to transport people from the affected areas, Mullins said.

"We’re so lucky nobody was seriously injured," Mullins said.

Recovery crews worked frantically Thursday and again on Friday to do as much as possible while weather conditions changed. A steady rain on Friday and the possibility of snow over the weekend has raised safety concerns.

Also, recovery workers and police tightened access to the most severely affected areas of town.

Big Stone Gap Fire Chief Billy Chandler said recovery workers must sign in and be properly identified before they venture into the damaged neighborhoods.

"If they are caught in that area without authorization, they go to jail," he said.

In light of the weather forecasts, Chandler said workers need no distractions as they try hurried to shore up homes and remove damaged trees that pose a threat.

"We want homeowners to be able to get their stuff, but when a structure is condemned, it’s unsafe," Chandler said. "We cannot put people in danger with everything that is going on right now."

Recovery workers from nearby counties were also lending a hand in Big Stone Gap, hauling away debris.

Donnie Ratliff, vice president of external affairs with Alpha Natural Resources, has been volunteering to cook meals for the workers.

"We just wanted to help," Ratliff said. "A lot of people from outside the area came by to help Big Stone Gap, and we wanted to treat them to some Southwest Virginia hospitality."

kstill@bristolnews.com | (276) 679-1338