Edited by Ken Duffy
RURAL ENDERLIN, ND – Three people are dead from a tornado that tore through a part of rural Cass County North Dakota overnight, leaving a path of destruction that stretched for miles.
“Obviously this is a very tragic situation,” Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner said during a press conference near the scene of some of the damage at County Road 38 and Highway 46.
The tight-knit community of 856 that sits in both Ransom and Cass Counties is now dotted with debris from the storm that hit late Friday night into Saturday morning.
“We have a loss of life during this event,” Jahner said. “And as everyone is aware, a number of the people that respond to this are rural first responders and are familiar with the individuals that are involved in the situation.”
Listen below: Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner and Enderlin Fire Chief John Anderson hold a press conference on the latest storm damage
At around 11:40 p.m., Jahner says deputies were stationed in the western part of the county when Jahner says when they were dispatched to a residence.
A roof was blown right off a house just off Highway 46 near the area of 140th Avenue SE.
“Our deputies were dispatched to that location to check on those individuals,” Jahner said. “And when they arrived on the scene there and speaking with those residents, they shortly learned that another residence just to the east of them had sustained major damage and that the [two] individuals there were deceased.”
Shortly thereafter, deputies went to a second home north of that location, where they found a third person’s body.
“Our hearts and our thoughts go out to those affected and their families,” said Jahner.
Enderlin Fire Chief John Anderson, who also called it a “tragic event”, described the expanse of the damage area.
“I would say approximately three miles wide and about six miles long,” Anderson said. “This is by far the worst [storm] in my 20 year career as a volunteer firefighter.”
Jahner says they conducted a “grid search” of the damage area to check on more victims, but says there were no other signs of anyone else with “major injuries.”
Chris Sanvig had relatives staying at his home overnight in Lisbon and rushed back to check on the homes of friends and family.
“I don’t know what to say,” Sanvig sighed. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Jahner says the American Red Cross was contacted to help with displaced residents, although he couldn’t share an exact number of people who are in need of temporary shelter and help.
“It’s a matter of getting people out to these rural areas,” Jahner said. “We obviously get extra patrol people out to the area to check on residents to make sure if they’re okay and see if they need anything.”
Jahner urged caution when it comes to the public’s curiosity about seeing the storm damage up close.
“Driving around to look at things is not the best thing to do today [Saturday],” said Jahner. “We have families who are trying to pick up the pieces from the storm and could hamper that.”
Jahner advised anyone who might be out and about to alert authorities if you see a downed power line that needs to be checked by deputies or the power company.
“We have a number of power lines that are still down,” said Jahner. “There still could potentially be some dangerous situations.”
