Tornado damages homes in parish
Published 4:35 am Wednesday, January 23, 2019
- Several houses and mobile homes were damaged by a tornado that touched down near Pine and Franklinton on Saturday morning.
A tornado caused damage to several residences in Washington Parish on Saturday, according to Chief Deputy Mike Haley of the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Haley said that the tornado touched down off Louisiana Highway 436, east of Franklinton and west of Pine. He noted that the primary damage was on Buford Creel Road. A house was partially destroyed and several mobile homes were destroyed, he said.
Haley said that the house was the residence of Byron Brumfield and his family.
“Other damage was on James Creel Road,” Haley said. “Two houses, across the road from each other, received damage. Additionally, a few trees were down on T.J. Brumfield Road, which connects the two Creel roads.”
Haley said that when he arrived on the scene around noon Saturday, numerous friends and neighbors were on site doing emergency clean up and repairs. In addition, WSTE trucks were restoring power and parish crews were assisting in clearing the road, he said.
According to the National Weather Service, the tornado touched down at approximately 9:45 a.m. It had a 1.2-mile path, hitting west of Buford Creel Road before moving east-northeast and crossing T.J. Brumfield Road and James Creel Road.
The NWS reported that the tornado’s width was about 75 yards, with a wind speed estimated at 105 mph. It was classified as an EF-1 Tornado, which is the second lowest designation on the Enhanced Fujita scale used to classify tornadoes. EF-0 tornadoes, with wind speeds of 65-85 mph, are the weakest, while EF-5 tornadoes (with wind speeds of 200 mph or more) are the strongest.
There were no major injuries or fatalities reported.