Hundreds of homes were destroyed when an EF3 tornado (wind speeds 136 to 165 miles per hour) struck Cleburne County around 9 a.m. Friday. The tornado, although still not confirmed, is believed to have come within a half mile of the West Side School. The school was full of students at the time of the storm. “As of (Tuesday morning) we know there are approximately 190 homes that received damage,” said Billy Cockrell, director of the Cleburne County Office of Emergency Services. “Of those homes, approximately 30 are completely destroyed. I fully expect the total number of homes hit to exceed 200.” Nearly a dozen businesses were damaged or destroyed in the storm, including damage to one Greers Ferry Fire Station.
The tornado, according to the National Weather Service in Little Rock, trekked over 40 miles, starting near Birdtown in Conway County, traveling near Damascus in Van Buren County, and ending approximately five miles north, northwest of Drasco in Cleburne County. The twister that struck the Greers Ferry area was reported as the strongest in the state during the outbreak Friday. As Doppler radar images showed Heber Springs in the direct path of the storm Friday morning, warning sirens were sounded across the county. The storm was headed directly toward Heber Springs, with an estimated strike time of 8:50 a.m. Just a few minutes before 9 a.m., the storm veered north, hitting Pryor Mountain, Christopher Drive, Burning Tree Road, Emerald Isle, Hwy 92, Frontier Canyon, and other areas around Greers Ferry.
Greers Ferry Mayor Shelly Davis, Greers Ferry Police Chief Ray Dearmon, Greers Ferry police officers, Fire, EMS, Cleburne County Sheriff’s Department, and other area law enforcement were evaluating emergency scenes within minutes of the storm passing. They were out making sure everyone was safe and accounted for; making sure anyone that needed help received help.