Earlier Thursday she received a call from her daughter and sons from the home, saying a fire was close. She dashed home and was stopped by police who eventually let her pass when she explained she had children there. Police gave her 10 minutes.
"Photos were all I had time to grab," she said. "That and my dad's medicine, and that's it."
Update: 7:45 p.m.
Two tornados touched down in Ottawa County between 6 and 6:30 p.m., said Gary Brooks, Miami Emergency Management director. The first tornado hit between Afton and Vinita about 6 p.m. and a second tornado touched down south of Miami between Welch and Narcissa around 6:30 p.m.
No damage or injuries were reported, Brooks said.
Hail up to three-quarters of an inch was reported in Colcord in Delaware County and Nashoba in Pushmataha County and inch-sized hail was reported near Sallisaw in Sequoyah County , according to the National Weather service.
Update: 7:33 p.m.
Shannon Kaelin, who lives in the Oakwood East addition in Midwest City, said a police officer knocked on her door and told her to get out as fast as she could. She said she grabbed her young daughter, purse and cell phone and got into her car, but the prospect of leaving the neighborhood seemed more frightening than staying.
Kaelin said as she drove down the street leaving her neighborhood, trees were burning and flames shot up more than 30 feet into the air. Struggling to see amid smoke and bumper-to-bumper traffic, Kaelin said she could feel the heat from the fire as she crept past in the slow-moving traffic.
"I was so scared, I didn't know if we should jump out of the car and run (instead of sit in traffic)," Kaelin, 37, said.
At last count, about 100 people were using the Midwest City community center as shelter.
Update: 7:22 p.m.
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