Ranch of Well-Known Elected Leader Incurs Major Tornado Carnage; Warnings Issued County-wide
Trevor Phipps
Teller County Commissioner Dan Williams returned home one Friday afternoon to a terrifying view in the skies above.
When Williams arrived at his 80-acre ranch located just north of Cripple Creek, he was shocked when he looked west and saw jet black skies.
By the time he got into his house that sits at 10,100 feet in elevation, he peered out the window and saw a large tornado starting to form in a valley on his property. Before he knew it, the scary-looking twister surged to about 500-feet high and started tearing through his mountain ranch pulling up trees by their roots that stood in its path.
The tornado worked its way around Williams’s property and then split in two. One branch of the tornado shot further down into the valley south and the other headed west into public national forest lands.
When it was all said and done, Williams’ home only succumbed to minor damage like a couple of broken windows and twisted exterior lights. According to Williams, no personal injuries occurred to those residing at his home, including his two dogs. But on his property, Williams reported there were at least 500 trees taken down by the tornado’s rampage.
“I have never been in a tornado, but I have seen them on the TV,” Williams said. “I thought that it might have looked like a tornado because it was so dark, but it didn’t have a funnel cloud.”
To escape the carnage of the storm, the county commissioner said he closed all of his windows and got his two dogs inside the house. He then looked out the window and saw the first tornado form.
“I can only describe it like this, you are swimming, and you look up and there’s a shark,” Williams remembered. “You go, ‘Wow there’s a shark I better do something.’ So, I picked up the phone and called 911. They recognized my number and my voice, and I said, ‘Hey, I’m about to be hit by a tornado take care.’ That was it. Then all of a sudden it hit.”
The next day, Williams had federal officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) come to his property and confirm that a tornado struck based on how the damage occurred. The officials confirmed the tornado and classified it as an EF-1 which means the tornado had wind speeds between 100 and 120 miles per hour.
After the clouds cleared, many people in the community banded together to provide assistance to Williams. Nearly 100 of Williams’s neighbors and friends showed up at his ranch to help clean up the destruction.
For several days after the tornado struck, the county commissioner had people with trucks and tractors helping chop up and remove wood from the fallen trees. Even though the damage to his house was minor, Williams suffered damage to multiple green houses on his property and the gate at his driveway entrance.
The tornado also destroyed an old cabin on the property that Williams said had been there since 1883 and was more than 140 years old. “That just goes to show you how rare tornadoes are in this area and at this altitude,” Williams said.
County Officials Issue Stern Tornado Warnings
Shortly after the tornado struck, Teller County Interim Office of Emergency Management (OEM) Director Jessica Flohrs issued a media alert, warning residents to be prepared for the possibility of tornados even at high elevations.
The press release used historical facts to prove that although tornados in Teller County are rare, they can still occur.
“Since 2000 (and prior to the latest twister invasion) Teller County experienced a total of seven tornadoes,” Flohrs stated in a media release. “The most recent (and wide-spread) tornado occurred on June 20th, 2023, at an elevation of 9,000 feet near Pikes Peak. This highlights that, while not common, tornadoes do occur in higher terrains like ours. The highest recorded tornado in the region was at 12,156 feet in the Rockwell Pass area on July 7th, 2004.”
The interim OEM director stressed the importance of remaining vigilante during peak tornado season that occurs between May and August. “Colorado experiences an average of 53 tornadoes annually, with most occurrences along and east of Interstate 25,” the press release reported.
When federal officials issue a “Tornado Watch” it means that conditions are favorable for tornado formation. A “Tornado Warning” means a tornado has been sighted or spotted on radar and immediate action should be taken to protect life and property.
According to Flohrs, if a tornado does strike, it is wise to seek shelter indoors on a lower level like a basement and keep as many walls in between the person and the outside as possible. Residents should also avoid manufactured and mobile homes. If they live in a mobile home, it is wise to seek safety in a different structure should a tornado strike.
If someone is caught outdoors during a tornado, the best thing they can do is lie down in a low-lying area such as a ditch and cover their head. The Teller officials caution residents against seeking shelter under a highway overpass as that action can have deadly consequences.
With the recent release of the new movie “Twisters,” even Teller residents need to remember the extensive damage a tornado can cause and stay prepared for weather-related disasters.
Historically, one of the more renowned tornadoes occurred at Rampart Range Reservoir in the 1990s, an incident that threatened the lives of several local residents who were on a boating expedition at the time. Luckily, no fatalities occurred, but hundreds of trees were destroyed. Brief tornado invasions are often spotted in sections of the Ute Pass and Teller County.
Even reports of local linkers at Shining Mountain Golf Course in Woodland Park spotting twister formations have circulated, with some golfers scrambling for cover.
