Arizona tornado warnings were followed by a likely tornado touchdown in Heber-Overgaard on Wednesday night, and Arizona State Representative Walt Blackman said the storm left considerable damage and power out in the affected area. He said one person had been injured and urged a state of emergency response.
ABC15 Chief Meteorologist Amber Sullins said the touchdown likely happened around 8 p.m., after a tornado warning for Navajo County in north central Arizona ran from 7:01 to 7:30 p.m. The area was one of several parts of Arizona under severe weather concern Wednesday, with 11 tornado warnings issued across the state.
West Country Club Drive response
Walt Blackman posted that, “The storm has caused considerable damage, and power is currently out in the affected area.” He also wrote, “At this time, one injury has been reported.” Those details placed the damage squarely in Heber-Overgaard, where residents were dealing with outages and the first reported injury as the storm moved through.
The Navajo County Sheriff's Office, the Heber-Overgaard Fire District, the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Coconino County Sheriff's Office said the significant weather event caused significant damage in the Overgaard area. A reception center was set up at the Navajo County Heber Complex at 2188 West Country Club Drive, and a shelter was being coordinated through the American Red Cross for displaced residents.
Navajo County Heber Complex
The reports point to more than a brief weather scare: the storm left the area without power, sent residents to the reception center, and brought multiple agencies into the response. With one injury reported by Blackman and minor injuries reported by the Navajo County Sheriff's Office, the immediate priority in Heber-Overgaard is shelter, access, and damage assessment rather than a quick return to normal service.
The unanswered issue for residents is how extensive the damage is and how long the outage will last, but the response already shifted to a local reception center and a shelter plan through the American Red Cross.
