Elbert tornado front

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NewsElbert County

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June 14, 2012 75 centsA Colorado Community Media Publication

Elbert County, Colorado • Volume 117, Issue 20

Storm wreaks havocHomes damaged as tornado rips through Elbert CountyBy Deborah [email protected]

A severe thunderstorm moved through Elbert County on the evening of June 7, spawning heavy rain, hail, high winds and a tornado that damaged at least 136 homes.

More than 50 responders, including 35 field volunteers representing crews from Elbert, Kiowa, Elizabeth, Rattlesnake, Simla, Agate, Calhan and Limon Fire Dis-tricts, along with Elbert County Sheriff’s Office were deployed to conduct damage assessment operations and ensure citi-zen welfare.

“Basically we just go door-to-door to make sure everyone’s OK and there are no injuries,” said Simla Fire Chief, John Hill-mann. “We also look for any types of haz-ards that may be present such as downed power lines, propane leaks, and we also check on livestock and animals.”

Hillmann explained that in order to effectively cover the large and sparsely populated area, disaster assessment teams were divided into five distinct tar-get areas, increasing efficiency and re-sponse time.

Crews canvassed more than 480 square miles and 388 homes, and found approximately 5 percent of those homes had severe damage.

Of the homes damaged, 32 sustained moderate to severe damage.

One home was a total structural loss.“Fortunately, there have been no fa-

talities associated with the storm at this time, and we’ve had only one minor inju-ry reported,” said Kara Gerczynski, Eliza-beth Fire Protection Agency Fire Marshall and spokesperson for the Elbert County Office of Emergency Management.

The office of emergency management said most of the damage appears to be confined to areas 16 miles east of Kiowa, along CR 105, and 7 miles east of Simla.

The Ben Lomond Gun Club was also damaged, but by excessive hail.

According to officials, the storm’s path was 24 miles long and 20 miles wide, and the tornado initially touched down at ap-proximately 7:15 p.m. near CR-101 north of CR-90, and then moved south into northern El Paso County.

The National Weather Service in Boul-der rated damage at EF-2, meaning the storm’s winds are estimated to have been between 111 and 135 mph at its strongest point near CR-82 and just west of CR-97.

Over the next few days, Elbert Coun-ty Emergency Manager Cory Stark said the county, along with its state and local partners, will work together to assess the long-term damages to the area and begin plans for clean-up and repair.

Emergency responders, as well as area residents, credit citizen preparedness and early warning systems for saving lives.

Emergency management officials are asking the public to stay away from the affected areas and not hamper emergen-cy and official personnel.

Couple, dog ride out twisterElbert County family loses home, but doesn’t give up hope

By Deborah [email protected]

Elbert County residents Mark and Debbie Studer had just finished their eve-ning meal and were settling in to watch television before going to bed.

It was getting dark and cloudy outside, and nearly every channel was blaring an assortment of weather warnings across a variety of Colorado counties.

“It did start to look pretty serious out there,” said Debbie Studer, a weather-seasoned, 12-year Elbert County resi-dent. “So I lit my church candles like I al-ways, do… I usually light them to protect us from hail and stuff, but last night, they protected our lives.”

The Studers, along with their dog, An-gel, weathered the June 7 tornado that hit Elbert County, in the basement of their rural home near Ramah on CR-82.

While their house was a total loss, the couple, their dog, and even the curious feral cat that lives outside, all emerged “without a scratch.”

Debbie said she had taken her laptop downstairs around 7:15 p.m. to get a bet-ter look at the storm on the Internet, but bad weather and an intermittent con-nection made it difficult to see anything conclusive.

“But then Mark heard the television say, `If you live in the Ramah area, take cover now,’ ” she said.

With the storm approaching and the barometric pressure rapidly changing, Angel balked at going downstairs, and so Studer put a rope around the frightened

dog’s neck.“I literally had to drag her down the

stairs with us into the basement,” she said.

Debbie said she and her husband Mark, as well as the dog, took shelter be-hind a sofa; she laying on the dog, and Mark laying on her.

Mark held on to the sofa.Within 30 seconds, the storm hit their

home.“I didn’t hear no freight train or noth-

ing, but I did feel the pressure,” said Deb-bie. “It was like my head was going to ex-plode.”

Within seconds, the two glass doors

inside the couple’s basement imploded, sending shards of broken glass raining down throughout the room.

“Both doors just blew, it sounded like a shotgun going off,” said Debbie. “In 15 to 20 seconds it was done, and as fast as I heard that noise, I knew the house was gone… Mark said he thought it was just the roof, but I knew the whole house was gone.”

With most of their home gone, and the heavy rain that accompanied the storm, the Studers’ basement began to flood.

“Mark tried to keep up with it by sweeping the water into the basement drain,” said Debbie. “I think he did it more just to keep his mind off things.”

The Studers and their dog emerged “without a scratch” and were eventually moved that night to an official shelter set

Debbie and Mark Studer share an emotional moment by their car as they look over the extent of damage to their rural Elbert County home. Although they were insured, the Studers lost everything in the June 7 storm that damaged as many as 136 homes in the county. Photos by Deborah Grigsby

While the roof is missing and several walls leveled in the Studers’ Elbert County home, amazingly enough, their magazines are still neatly stacked, the television is undisturbed and a small green decorative car remains in place on the window sill.

See Tornado, Page 8

Donations can be made to The Studer Family Relief Fund, Farmers State Bank, 458 Colorado Ave., Calhan, CO 80808

Or call (719) 347-2727 for a list of immediate needs.