WALLOWA COUNTY, Ore. — Eastern Oregon experienced a powerful hail storm Thursday afternoon that left a lot of damage in Wallowa County. The hail coming down was large and heavy, and smashed up the siding of Alyssa Werst Daggett's house in Wallowa.
"It was just hitting the side of my house with extreme force," Werst Daggett said. "It has damaged the west side of my house — everyone in Wallowa, any west side facing surface is just obliterated."
Werst Daggett said she had never seen hail this size before.
"Everyone's in the same boat," Werst Daggett said. "I have one friend who lost all their chickens, there's been more devastation there, nobody has a garden left."
Werst Daggett said the community is coming together to help with the cleanup.
"So many people have come down and helped put plywood on people's houses," Werst Daggett said. "My neighbor lost all their skylights in their house, they got help putting those on."
Wallowa Mayor Gary Hulse said most of the damage has been to windows and roofs. He said there have been reports of between 8 and 10 minor injuries so far. He declared a state of emergency for the city.
"We have the Oregon Department of Forestry and U.S. Forest Service sending crews down for assistance and checking each one of our houses to make sure elderly people have what they need," Hulse said.
Hulse said he had seven windows busted out of his home from the damage.
Elkhorn Media Group covers Eastern Oregon on the radio and online. News director Shannon McKone said generators in that area have been moved to Wallowa to help with power outages.
"There's people banning together to help them, whether that be food or businesses offering free coffee, transporting people if they need to be seen medically," McKone said. "It's a great community and really shows the support and love everyone has for each other."
PHOTOS: Storm damage in northeastern Oregon
