Indian Lake rallies in wake of 2024’s deadly storm
March 14, 2024, began as a rather ordinary day in the lives of many community members at Indian Lake. But what appeared on the weather radar several states over as a spring thunderstorm quickly took a turn and gathered strength, and unleashed a powerful and deadly EF3 tornado on the region that evening, making it a day that will never be forgotten by the many individuals’ lives it impacted.
But as speakers shared Friday evening in a Community Remembrance Event hosted by the Logan County Long Term Recovery Team at Indian Lake High School, many community members, volunteers and first responders have helped Indian Lake to rise back from the rubble through rallying together and helping one another in the days, weeks and months that have followed.
“It was a storm the likes of which we’ve never seen. But it brought about the spirit of caring the likes of which we’ve never seen,” Lakeview Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Joe Ferryman said during his address, one of a dozen public officials to offer their poignant reflections of this difficult time. “Ordinary citizens helped family, friends, neighbors and even strangers.”
“Indian Lake is more than a place on a map. It’s a family,” Indian Joint Fire District Lt. Steve Reid told attendees. “The scars we have will never fully fade. But the love that was shown after the storm is much greater. The entire region was united in purpose. We’re now much stronger and more determined than ever.”
Assistant Chief Ferryman shared from the Parable of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10.
“Love thy neighbor as thyself; that plays out in many different ways,” he said.
Lt. Reid said one form of good samaritans he witnessed were the volunteers who prepared many meals to serve at the incident command center at the fire house.
“The women had a pulse on absolutely everything we needed,” he said. “They turned our firehouse into a refuge and provided our first responders with a much-needed moment to pause and rest.”
While serving with storm recovery efforts, Tara Cascioli, Indian Lake Community Church youth pastor, said she observed the love, hospitality, service and strength displayed even in some of the darkest hours. She said she was humbled by the extreme acts of generosity that she witnessed.
“People who lost everything were willing to give you the coat off of their backs, or the chainsaw out of their trunk,” she said.
During the first 12 hours after the storm, Cascioli remembered driving around and seeing the overwhelming devastation in the villages surrounding Indian Lake. While she is typically a “glass-half full” kind of person, she said she couldn’t imagine how God could enable anything good to come out of this catastrophe, with so many people’s lives ripped apart.
Over the next few days, she said her mindset began to change when she saw how people came together and how the faith-based community could serve survivors in practical ways.
Amazingly, Cascioli related, “God shielded all of the churches at Indian Lake from the tornado’s path,” so in the days and weeks that followed the storm, these facilities were able to serve in a variety of capacities to help with recovery, including as staging centers and areas to collect supplies. Now one of the churches still serves a monthly dinner to survivors of the tornado as well.
“Before the tornado, some of the folks had never stepped foot in a church. Following the storm, people were able to have a safe refuge during this hard time. Now, some of these same people are regular attenders at our church,” the youth pastor said.
“We need to remember that even when we’re broken, that God is there picking up the pieces. Our God is stronger than any storm we may face.”
Logan County Sheriff Randy Dodds praised the efforts of local law enforcement and first responders in coming together to help in the immediate aftermath and ensuing days after the tornado.
“When it all went down that night, my brain was spinning. Where do we begin? Our first priority was identifying people who were injured and people who might be deceased.
“One thing that came out of this is our first responders, we work so well together. There’s no way to train for a disaster like this. We do a lot of trainings with Helen (Norris with the Logan County Emergency Management Agency). We train for active shooters; schools do fire drills and tornado drills.
“You see these types of events on the news in other states. But it hits you in the face when you see it in reality. It gives you a whole new appreciation for how important and precious life is. The things we fight and bicker about, they don’t matter. It really puts things in perspective.”
Sheriff Dodds and many of the other speakers paid special tribute to the three lives who were lost in the tornado, Marilyn Louise Snapp, Darla Kay Williams and Neal Alan Longfellow. A moment of silence was observed in their memory at 7:48 p.m., the time when the tornado first touched down.
“It’s heartbreaking what we saw up here. We honor the lives lost and remember the efforts of our first responders, who risked their own safety to help others. Your courage will never be forgotten,” the sheriff said.
Logan County EMA Director Helen Norris related that the tornado’s toll also included 38 people who transported to area hospitals for treatment of injuries as well.
Norris praised the amazing response in the community, including the many generous businesses who provided donations and meals and other practical services. While much progress has been made, she said the Long Term Recovery Team continues its work.
“We are not perfect, but we are moving forward. We’re looking forward to a much brighter tomorrow.”
Following the March 2024 tornado, the Logan County EMA previously reported 1,443 total business and residential properties were assessed, including 87 businesses and 1,356 residential properties.
Of those residential properties, 235 were destroyed; 253 sustained major damage; 417 sustained minor damage; 279 residences were affected; and 172 properties were not affected (348 properties also were found to be non-primary residences).
Many families in the minor and affected categories have recovered on their own and requested no assistance from Long Term Recovery, according to a summary report of the team’s efforts from March 14, 2024-Feb. 5, 2025.
During the past 10 months, LTR reached out to more than 700 families in the destroyed, major and minor categories.
“We have maintained contact with families who were unsure of their ability to recover on their own, or who knew they couldn’t,” members said in the report.
In those categories, a total of 121 families are known to have recovered with insurance and 40 families are waiting on insurance and expect to be completed.
The number of families referred to LTR is 97 cases.
Of the 97 cases referred to LTR, 66 are now in safe permanent housing and have received the assistance that was available and their cases are closed, according to the report. This assistance ranged from replacing lost household items such as furniture, bedding, appliances, furnaces, structural repairs, and moving and hook-ups for mobile homes and park models.
“Any assistance given by Logan County LTR is required to be sustainable. Everything is being done to get families moved into better yet sustainable housing,” members stated in the report.
“Through generous donations to Logan County LTR and our LTR partnering agencies, we are supplying the necessities to fill their living space once housing is acquired. We will continue this work until all possible sustainable recovery has been achieved.”
Anyone who needs assistance recovering from the loss of their home or belongings in the tornado is asked to contact LTR via phone at (937) 450-0404 (leave your name and number), or e-mail LoganCountyLTR@gmail.com.