Southern Teller Victimized by “Wizard of Oz” Wind Conditions

Tiny Home Sent for A Near Fatal Ride

~ by Trevor Phipps ~

A slight respite in the wrath of winter couldn’t have come at a better time, with even Dorothy, the fictional character of the famous “Wizard of Oz story, ready to pull out the emergency help flag.

Just prior to a slight warming trend, expected to end in a day or so, Mother Nature lashed out at Teller with no relief, shutting down schools and bringing residential destruction, and even forcing a “tiny home” to experience a near-fatal ride.

Recently, a storm closed several school districts and highways in the state and one Teller County resident found out the hard way when a tiny home blew onto its side and across the property.

A recent storm paralyzed the region, shutting down schools and creating hazardous driving conditions. Many businesses remained shut. The overall snow accumulations proved to be rather small with most places in the area recording around three inches of snowfall. However, the high-speed winds associated with the storm was the issue that caused the school and highway closures.

In areas east of Colorado Springs, wind gusts of over 60 miles per hour were recorded. Locally, according to the fire chief of the Cripple Creek Fire Department, Dean O’Nale, there were wind gusts measured at over 50 miles per hour.

The Cripple Creek Fire Department posted on social media pictures of a tiny home that had been taken for a ride by the “Big Bad Wolf” blizzard. “Tiny homes and blizzard-force winds do not like each other,” said O’Nale. “CCFD and SWTCEMS responded to a tiny house blown over and blown down the road. The one patient and two cats inside were rescued by our first responders!”

According to O’Nale, the tiny home that was located on a piece of property near Hwy. 67 and Rhyolite Road (just outside of Cripple Creek) blew about 100 feet away from its original location. The person inside the home at the time only suffered from minor injuries and the two cats walked away from the situation unscathed.

As soon as the post surfaced social media it went viral and the story was featured on news channels across the state. The post immediately generated several comments from local residents. Many of the comments stressed the fact that any buildings on properties in the area should be anchored down well in order to prevent the recent incident that resembles what Dorothy from the “Wizard Of Oz: may have experienced.

Other comments were more sympathetic and people expressed their gratitude that the resident was not injured. One comment even offered the blizzard victim help to put the tiny house back where it was supposed to be.

Luckily, residents have gotten a slight winter reprieve, with temperatures climbing into the 40s. But later this week, more wintery conditions are expected to return to the high country.