Severe Weather Causes Damage, Power Failures at Exchanges in Three States

Exchanges in three states suffered damage, power failures and unscheduled closures Wednesday during a severe weather outbreak that stretched from Colorado to Michigan.

Canopy damage at Fort Riley’s Big Red One Express.

In Kansas, strong winds damaged the canopy at Fort Riley’s Big Red One (BRO) Express, but the main issue for Fort Riley was power outages.

General Manager Jermaine Wilson said tornado warnings started between 3 and 4 p.m. Wednesday, quickly followed by a shelter-in-place order.

“My team started calling me and everybody was sheltering in place,” Wilson said. “A tornado finally passed over, but everybody checked in and was safe and sound. We really couldn’t tell what damage we had because it was still so misty out there.”

Soon afterward, Wilson spoke with the post’s deputy commander, who gave the all-clear at 4:30. Although power was out at several facilities, the main store and three Expresses had power and stayed open.

That lasted till about 5:30, when power failures became more widespread. “We just went ahead and closed all the facilities and shut everything down,” Wilson said. “We got the associates home because the wind was picking up again.”

Power returned about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, and most facilities opened on time on Thursday morning. Other than the canopy at the BRO Express, there wasn’t much damage, aside from some doors at the main Exchange food court. Wilson said he has seen no interior damage.

Wilson said the Fort Riley team did an amazing job during the storms.

“We’ve had mock tornado preparedness days at Fort Riley, and those days paid off,” he said. “You could see it Wednesday in a real-time incident. The team did a great job with execution and following up in regards to safety and making sure everybody was accounted for.”

In Colorado, the Fort Carson Exchange’s Wilderness Express also suffered canopy damage during high winds.

Canopy damage at Fort Carson’s Wilderness Express.

“One side of the top panels was blown out,” said General Manager Chris Holifield. “That was the most significant damage. The garden shop fence at the main store was almost completely blown over. Those were the two biggest things.”

Outdoor Living also suffered some damage to automatic doors, but the doors could still be secured. Power was out for about an hour at the main store, a Burger King and the U.S. Air Force Academy Express. Two associates at the Gate 3 Express reported blown-out windows, and the store lost some ceiling tiles. A drive-thru menu board at a Burger King was damaged.

By Thursday morning, most operations were back to normal.

“It’s calm today,” Holifield said. “It’s beautiful.”

In Nebraska, Offutt Air Force Base closed all non-essential services, including the Exchange, at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday because of a severe-weather forecast that included possible tornadoes, according to the base’s Facebook page. By Thursday morning, things had reopened, but the Facebook page carried a warning to watch for debris, non-working stoplights, downed power lines and other potential hazards.