LAKEVIEW, Ohio — 8 p.m. UPDATE:
The Logan County EMA and Logan County Sheriff’s Office provided the following joint statement:
"Search and rescue have been completed. We are beginning to move into the Recovery Phase with the help of select agencies. The area is still very dangerous. We urge caution to everyone. Damage assessments will begin tomorrow and we anticipate sharing that information once it is complete.
For the evening, please keep in mind that there is shelter available at the Church of God (1000 East Brown Ave, Bellefontaine).
The Logan County Sheriff’s Office will continue to provide extra patrol for the foreseeable future. Please, if you are not a resident and do not need to be in the area we ask that you avoid the area."
The hardest-hit area in Ohio from Thursday's tornadoes and storms was the Indian Lake area in Logan County.
At least three people died, according to the Logan County Sheriff's Office, and at least 25 people were injured after an EF-3 tornado slammed Indian Lake and the communities around it southwest of Wapakoneta Thursday evening and night.
First responders and residents picked through the aftermath Friday as crews worked to assess the damage.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine visited the area Friday, saying in a press conference, "Nothing prepared me in regard to what we've been hearing and seeing in pictures, for actually driving around and seeing the damage. There is a tremendous amount of damage here."
Residents in Lakeview say they were ready for storms Thursday but didn't anticipate one so powerful.
Travis Gause said he and his family only had a few moments to find a place to shelter.
"I'm covered up over them, and then my dogs came in and they got on top of us. They were literally on my back. And then it came and went pretty quick," Gause said.
Logan County Sheriff Randall Dodds said first responders from surrounding counties came in overnight and worked straight through until 4 a.m. to clear 1,700 homes.
At least three fatalities were confirmed. Everyone else has been accounted for, officials said Friday.
"As county sheriff, I could not be more proud of the way the first responders responded last night, be it law enforcement agencies, fire, EMS," Dodds said.
DeWine also praised the emergency response to the tornado.
"I asked law enforcement, 'How in the world did you check all of these places?' And they got it done. But we also had neighbors watching out for neighbors," he said.
Gause said the impact to Indian Lake couldn't be fully understood until Friday morning.
"Once we finally got outside, because we were leery of even moving, we got outside and everyone had their phones out, but you really couldn't see none of the devastation until this morning," he said.
The community will continue to clean up and prepare to rebuild the town, hopefully before the summer tourism season begins.
"First responders, but also neighbors, volunteers from the community, bringing their chainsaws, bringing their generators, trying to help with the needs that people have," said Lt. Gov. Jon Husted.
All elected officials who attended a press conference at Indian Lake High School were in awe of the amount of donated items that filled the gymnasium.
"What we see in this gym, I think, is symbolic and real of the spirit of the people of this part of Ohio," DeWine said.
All day Friday, donations poured into the high school, which is also acting as a shelter for displaced residents.
Officials say they will begin accepting donations again starting Saturday at 10 a.m.