STANDARD BLADE B R I G H T O N
SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1903
75cI
VOLUME 118
Issue 25
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 2021
Tornado wipes out two homes, causes $500,000 in damage BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Weld County officials said the June 7 tornado that started in Firestone caused about $500,000 to businesses and property during its trek through parts of southwest Weld County. Two homes were destroyed, amounting to $429,000 in damage. Three other homes sustained damage to at least 50 percent of the structure, according to county officials. The cost of the damage to those homes is a bit more than $100,000. The tornado also hit two businesses, a feedlot and a dairy. Weld County officials said a fire sparked from a downed power line destroyed one building at the feedlot while another building loss was the direct result of the tornado. Damage to the dairy was limited to the roof, outbuildings and livestock. County officials said the tornado traveled about six miles and was on the ground for about a half-hour. The tornado also blew over some power lines and dislodged at least one piece of plywood that sailed into a tree. No people were injured, but two cattle at the local dairy farm died. The large tornado dropped down near Weld County roads 19 and 28 shortly after 5 p.m. A family driving home from the class 4A regional golf tournament in Greeley had to turn around on U.S. Highway 85 and wait out the storm in a place of safety. “I was in the house,” said resident Mark McKinney. “A buddy I work with lives up the road. He called me and said there was a tornado over the top of the house. It just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger.” The storm continued northeast, damaging the Cottonwood Dairy on WCR 26 and continuing toward Platteville. A storm chaser said two cows died.
A roof carried by the tornado barely missed a vehicle on June 7 at the house across from the dairy at 9078 County Road 26.
PHOTO BY BELEN WARD
This tornado that touched down in Firestone was visible from parts of northern Adams County and from the Prairie Center. It hit an area near Weld County roads 18 and 29 shortly before 5:30 June 7. PHOTO BY STEVE SMITH
“Once it left here, it stayed on the ground for probably 20 minutes,” McKinney said. There was no damage to McKinney’s home. Down the street, the
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tornado impaled a large piece of plywood into a tree. “We were just sitting in the living room. We came out, and it was literally right here,” McKinney said from in front of his property on WCR 28. “We watched it come through. It didn’t sound like a tornado. It looked more like a dirt devil. But then it intensified, and SEE TORNADO, P4
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