‘There are more trees down than we can count.’
OCEANA COUNTY — Thunderstorms and widespread damaging winds ripped through Oceana County and surrounding areas early Tuesday morning, June 25. The Oceana County Sheriff’s Office reports that there are no known injuries as a result.
“On Tuesday June 25, 2024, Oceana County residents woke up to a tremendous weather event with thunderstorms and widespread damaging winds,” states a press release from Oceana County Undersheriff Ryan Schiller. “There are more trees down than we can count as well as power outages and damage to property. Thankfully, we know of no injuries as a result of the storm.
“As of noon on Tuesday, Mason-Oceana 911 had received 563 calls — 400 of them were from 5–8 a.m., many of them as a result of the storm. Our dispatchers at Mason-Oceana 911 did a tremendous job fielding so many calls; prioritizing them; and sending units where they were needed most.
“Our Emergency Manager, Mr. Troy Maloney has been in contact with us as well as the other public safety department heads throughout the county. Fire departments throughout Oceana County have been responding to wires down, transformer fire and trees across roadways all night long. We are fortunate to have fire departments with committed members who are always willing to serve.
“We are thankful for the great partnerships we have with all of the other public safety agencies including the Oceana County Road Commission where deputies are able to communicate directly with our road commission supervisors and local municipalities’ public works departments.
“Our 911 Director, Ray Hasil had a large tree fall, taking out the power to their home and with the tree falling into their backyard and pool. Although Director Hasil didn’t have power at home, he was at the 911 center during the early morning hours ensuring that operations were taken care of. Due to the backup generators and redundancy measures in place, our 911 center remained online without any issues.
“Emergency Manger Troy Maloney said we are waiting to hear from the National Weather Service to determine what, if any, specific weather event occurred. This may take longer than normal to open up roadways and get power restored to all the affected areas.”
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