19-03-2025
Fifty-Six & Blanchard Springs recovering from EF-4 tornado
FIFTY-SIX, Ark. – The small community of Fifty-Six, Arkansas, is taking one day at a time cleaning up after Friday's EF-4 tornado. Nearby Blanchard Springs has multiple areas that are still closed.
Jake Anderson was staying in a Fifty-Six cabin for Three Days of Syllamo, a 94-mile, three-day race in Blanchard Springs, he coordinates. The tornado canceled it after the first day. Some participants after running 31 miles Friday camped outdoors in tents when the tornado passed over.
'We had some members of the race that were actively trying to help one individual who had a tree fall down on their tent,' Anderson stated.
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That person taken to the hospital was the only person injured between Blanchard Springs and nearby Fifty-Six. Anderson learned of everyone's safety after his own survival experience.
'I jetted from the van as quick as I could…jumped in the tub and braced for impact,' Anderson recalled.
Miraculously, he is only bruised where he was holding on for dear life. Jake Anderson rode out the storm in a now collapsed cabin. Next to him, entire cabins were lifted off their foundation. Some are gone.
Tony Hudspeth's home is considered totaled by insurance. Trees fell on both bedrooms while he was in a cellar. When he walked out destruction surrounded him. What was once a forest is now too many toppled trees to count.
'This will never look the same,' he said. 'I mean that's the reason I like living down here. I was kind of secluded but close by.'
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His sawmill will have a year's worth of lumber because the damage he saw is townwide.
Mayor Earnestdine McDaniel said currently 26 structures are considered totaled, including 12 homes people live in year-round. Over half don't have homeowner's insurance.
Another 24 structures are considered damaged, including Marcia Hall's home.
'Just waiting on repairmen and seeing if they will condemn your house or won't condemn your house. I know they are completely condemned. They are condemned,' she said pointing down the street.
Volunteers and donations are helping the town through its first steps of recovery. Donations the town still needs include tarps, nails, and other construction supplies.
Even with damage everywhere, Wood said Fifty-Six isn't broken because Fifty-Six is the people.
'It's the people. They're close. They love each other,' Wood said.
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And visitors like Anderson and those who travel from states away say their race will return in the years to come.
'12 miles of the trails out there at Syllamo are probably going to be gone forever, but we're still going to have 40 miles of trails that we're going to enjoy again,' Anderson said. 'The fellowship, the community part. That's never going to go away.'
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