Wimberley, Texas (Flooding) / 8,700 Meals Over 7 Days
On May 23, 2015, torrential rains falling on the already saturated ground in the Texas Hill Country resulted in record flooding. The towns of Wimberley and San Marcos experienced nearly instant flooding along the Blanco and San Marcos rivers. The Blanco river rose 20...
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Train Derailment) / 500 Meals Over 1 Day
On May 12, 2015, an Amtrak train bound for New York City from Washington, D.C. wrecked and derailed close to a neighborhood in Philadelphia. Eight people were killed and over 200 people were injured. Train service was disrupted for several days, but many passengers...
Kirkland & Fairdale, Illinois (Tornado) / 5,700 Meals Over 2 Days
An EF4 tornado cut through north-central Illinois on the evening of April 9, 2015 and devastated the town of Fairdale. The storm resulted in two fatalities, numerous injuries, and significant damage to both commercial and residential buildings along its over 30 mile...
Wayne, Nebraska (Tornado) / 1,000 Meals Over 1 Day
On October 4, 2013, northeastern Nebraska, southeastern South Dakota, and northwestern Iowa experienced 18 tornadoes. One of these tornadoes was an EF4 level twister that hit the town of Wayne. It damaged homes, businesses, farmland, and an airport in the area, which...
Volunteer of the Year 2013 – Bryan McLarty
Bryan McLarty, Operation BBQ Relief’s 2013 Rod Cramer Volunteer of the Year. In this interview, Bryan tells his story of how he and OBR got started. How did you get involved in OBR? Like several others, I was chatting on a BBQ forum the night the tornado hit in...
Pilger, Nebraska (Tornado) / 6,800 Meals Over 4 Days
On June 16, 2014, a supercell storm resulted in multiple tornadoes across the state of Nebraska. Three EF4 twisters impacted Stanton County, and the town of Pilger was directly hit as a twin tornado cut a parallel path nearby. The tornadoes resulted in two fatalities,...