93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
Members of Columbia-based Missouri Task Force 1 are conducting damage assessments on every structure in tornado-damaged Mayfield, Kentucky. That’s about 60 miles east of Sikeston, Missouri.
Boone County Fire Protection District assistant chief Gale Blomenkamp tells 939 the Eagle that task force one has competed about 1,054 structural assessments.
“You know our crews are going through that town (Mayfield). They’re seeing everything from total destruction to structures that have no damage at all,” Blomenkamp says.
President Biden will travel to Mayfield today (Wednesday), to survey the tornado damage. Mayfield took a direct hit in Friday night’s tornado, and some have compared the damage to Joplin’s deadly 2011 tornado.
The “Louisville Courier-Journal” reports eight people died when the tornado struck the Mayfield candle factory.
Task Force One has been in Mayfield since Monday. Assistant chief Blomenkamp tells 939 the Eagle that the task force is checking every Mayfield structure for damage and for potential victims.
“When we can go through and give a GPS location for every structure that we assess or every structure that should be there but may not, we can give that damage assessment to the locals when we leave,” says Blomenkamp.
He says that information is vital in moving communities toward recovery. Kentucky’s governor says the tornadoes have killed 74 in his state, including 12 children.
