Bill White, co-owner of United RV, had just reached his home when a hysterical employee called to tell him a tornado had passed through the dealership’s lot. As tornado sirens blared near his home, White left his wife and two kids in a closet in order to travel the 15 minutes back to the dealership. Once there, he discovered dozens of RVs flipped over or standing upright.

An covered storage area, home to nearly 30 privately-owned motorhomes and fifth wheels, had been demolished. In fact, two concrete pillars were uprooted and deposited either on top of or inside two motorhomes. Another 40 units on the lot for service work were also damaged. Surprisingly, most of the dealerships new inventory, on the opposite side of the property, was unscathed.

The dealership’s primary building was moderately damaged in that an internal wall separating the interior showroom from the service department had fallen and a few doors and windows had blown out along with some ceiling tiles and conduit. However, the dealership’s critical computer network and vast customer files were spared.

A Route 66 dealership, White said that dealers from throughout his network called throughout the day Saturday offering to come down to help him clean up.

“We’ve been getting calls from dealers ever since the story broke on the news Friday night,” said White. “One of our competitors, Professional Sales, sent ponchos and flashlights Friday night and a whole bunch of pizza on Saturday.”

Clean up crews had already cleared away a great deal of debris and righted overturned RVs before sundown Saturday. White expected power to the dealership to be restored Saturday night or early Sunday.