Jefferson County, IL | Bob Burton watched from the front porch of his Mount Vernon home as a large funnel cloud formed less than a half-mile away. Soon, reports would begin coming in of a tornado striking nearby towns on what had been a lazy Father’s Day afternoon.
Minutes later, Burton, Salem South associational mission strategist, received a call from Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Bullard, asking him to have his “guys” — Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief — ready. “I knew by his tone the situation was serious,” Burton said. It was later reported that two women were killed by injuries sustained in the tornado. One was the mother of a member of First Baptist Church Woodlawn.
“I think it really speaks to the credibility of the Disaster Relief team in our community,” Burton said. “I was really impressed by how people came to us asking for help.”
The confirmed EF3 tornado was on the ground for 25 minutes, striking rural Mount Vernon, Dix and Texico, traveling nearly 14 miles before dissipating in Wayne County.
Mass incidents
According to the National Weather Service, Illinois has shattered its all-time record number of tornadoes with 173 confirmed as of June 24. The state normally averages 54 tornadoes a year. IBDR is working two mass incident sites out of its command center hosted by Charleston Baptist Church in east-central Illinois, about 50 miles south of Champaign. The church is also providing lodging and kitchen facilities for IBDR volunteers.
“We’re running two full sites, which is pretty remarkable for us,” said Incident Command Administrator and State Training Director Sharon Carty. “We’re doing it through one incident command, all through the beauty of technology.” Carty is also the wife of Glen Carty, IBDR interim state director.
There are about 50 volunteers serving in the Charleston area, including 11 American Baptist volunteers. They include chainsaw and feeding team volunteers and one woman running the shower and laundry trailer.
The area was hit by an EF2 tornado June 17, and the Streator and Washburn areas the week prior on June 11. IBDR teams have had a very busy June.
Work began there on Monday (June 22) and as of Tuesday afternoon, Carty said volunteers were on work order No. 89. “Our assessors are still out with probably a good 15 to 25 jobs left and more still coming in.” She said they hope to finish work their work next week.
Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers at work outside Mt. Vernon, IL. Photo courtesy Roger Walker.
About a dozen volunteers are serving farther south in Jefferson County, around the Mount Vernon area. Roger Walker, a “Blue Hat,” is heading up the work. “It’s been quite a week,” Walker said. His own home was spared any damage. He served with IBDR at the Salvation Army camp near Washburn clearing trees felled by tornadoes, then worked in Charleston on Saturday and planned to return Monday. However, Sunday’s tornado changed his plans. He said he expects to spend the next few days clearing debris left behind by the tornado. According to Walker, the volunteers working with him Tuesday, who hail from five local churches, were “around Dix in the Toll Road area doing chainsaw work and using tractors with grapples.”
IBDR and churches “stepping up”
Burton praised the work of the Mount Vernon-area churches. “We have been in touch with several of our church families who have been affected.” He shared the story of the Thompson family, members of Campground Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, whose home “disintegrated around them” when the tornado struck. Kelley Thompson had just returned home from serving at the Salem South Camp Summer Camp which had 139 campers and saw 11 decisions.
He said members of their church and nearby Summersville Missionary Baptist Church have “rallied around them, helping with cleanup and other needs.” He singled out others, including, “Amy Hamson from Summersville Church has really worked hard to get others involved. She has been a godsend there. We are so thankful for how our association has responded.” Burton also noted the work of Summersville Pastor Joe Cooksey and Logan Street Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, which is serving as a logistical center for local IBDR work.
Carty said IBDR has people “stepping up to work but need more people to be trained.” There are more than 700 trained Disaster Relief volunteers in Illinois, but only 412 have active badges. If you would like to become a trained volunteer or would like to renew your badge, visit IBSA.org/dr. The next IBDR training event is coming up August 28-29 at Lake Sallateeska Baptist Camp. Most trainings will take place on Saturday, August 29, except chaplaincy training which is a two-day training. You can find out more at IBSA.org/events/disaster-relief-training-lake-sallateeska/.