Cleanup underway after Wapakoneta campground suffers heavy damages from tornado

WAPOKENTA — A campground in Wapokenta took a direct hit of one of two tornadoes that touched down in the Miami Valley, the National Weather Service confirmed Sunday.

News Center 7′s Mike Campbell went to Arrowhead Resorts Campground, a private campground run by Venture Out Resorts Monday.

>> 11-year-old in custody after alleged shooting threat at East Dayton Christian School

The campground has many permanent and temporary campsites as well as cabins. An early Saturday morning tornado left many trees down and a huge clubhouse without a roof.

Many people took shelter in the clubhouse when the storms came through.

“Could hear the sirens going off; I told her we needed to get dressed and go up to the clubhouse,” Dennis Wessler said.

>> Ohio AG announces lawsuit against Wapakoneta company, owner for cheating customers out of $200K

Wessler and his wife park their 22-foot trailer here and at 12:30 a.m. Saturday morning, they decided to head to the clubhouse for shelter after they received emergency alerts on their phones.

The storm was right behind them.

“They was trying to open the door for a guy to get in, when they did get it open, it was loud,” Wessler said.

>> Man, woman accused of multi-county crime spree facing charges

With campground security’s help, 40-50 people made it into the clubhouse. They did not realize the storm completely ripped off the clubhouse’s roof.

Wessler is glad he and his wife were not sitting in the trailer when the tornado came through.

The view from Sky7 shows how much devastation the EF1 tornado inflicted on the campground. Aside from the clubhouse roof and downed trees, campers and cabins were flipped over on their sides.

>> 1974 Xenia Tornado: Recalling the devastation

Wessler and his wife were one of four couples transported to the hospital.

“We are fortunate that there were no fatalities or life-threatening injuries, and we have been made aware that everyone who was injured is currently in stable condition,” Venture Out Resorts, Director of Communications Kristen Squires, said.

Managers of the campground would not allow News Center 7 on the property Monday as clean-up and repair work continues.

>> Court orders competency evaluation of 16-year-old charged with murder

“There were only a few minutes between when the tornado alarms sounded and when the tornado hit the resort, so some people were still in their campers or our cabins when the tornado came through. A few of our campers were able to get to our 16,000-square-foot clubhouse for shelter. However, the tornado took its toll on that building as well and ripped off the entire metal roof. Our thoughts and condolences go out to all who were at the resort and experienced this natural disaster,” Squires, said.

The campground is concentrated on clearing debris and downed trees, with some guest pulling their trailers out now, with hopes to return.

“We’ll be back in the fall, on our way to Florida,” Wessler said.

The campground is without power and will be closed for some time.

©2023 Cox Media Group