Picher damage extensive
On the outskirts of Picher, tin was bent around trees like wrappers on gum.
 Trees were uprooted, and a line of utility poles bent toward the ground. 
 
The National Weather Service sent out a tornado warning at 5:26 p.m., 13
 minutes before the tornado hit Picher, said David Jankowski, a National
 Weather Service meteorologist in Tulsa. Tornado sirens warned residents to
 take shelter. 
 
Several residents reported they did not get any warning, Brown and Ooten said. 
 
Frank Geasland, Ottawa County's emergency manager, said evidence of storm
 damage could be seen in a 15-mile path through the county 
 
The entire city of Picher is still without power, Ooten said. Authorities from
 Wagoner, Delaware, Washington and Mayes counties are assisting local officials
 with search and rescue missions. 
 
Picher is a former lead and zinc mining community that is now the center of the
 Tar Creek Superfund site. The town's population has dwindled from a peak of
 roughly 20,000 to about 800 people.