20-05-2025
Residents survey the damage after tornado touches down in Bennett
BENNETT, Colo. (KDVR) — First responders and residents are surveying the damage after a tornado caused serious destruction in parts of Bennett.
Ronnie was outside of her home in Bennett on Sunday afternoon when she noticed an alert on her phone.
Tornadoes touchdown in NE Colorado, egg-sized hail reported: Photos, NWS data
'There was no wind, you think that there's going to be this precursor, this like, earth-shattering event to let you know that there's another event coming,' Ronnie said. 'The only warning I had was my phone went off, and it sounded like an Amber Alert or something. And I checked it out, and it was one of those weather alerts.'
Right after the weather alert, footage Ronnie shared with FOX31 captured what rolled in.
'There's just this wall of this like tsunami of brown material headed my way,' she said. 'We occupied the safest room and it was just here. And I remember being shocked at how long it was here. Then I came back out and saw it, and it was just a beautiful day except for the war zone.'
Rampart Search and Rescue deployed to the Bennett area to assist on Sunday.
'There was quite a bit of devastation, and so you feel for the folks that, you know, have lost everything,' David Haskin, chief of Rampart Search and Rescue, said. 'The house behind me, we just found out that the house was just sold. I don't know if the new people are here in town or they're out of town, but that will be a little bit of a shock for them when they find out the devastation of it.
Haskin and the volunteer search and rescue team flew drones to help the damage assessment team, helped to block roads with downed power lines and responded to homes to make sure residents were not stuck under debris.
'A family didn't have power, so they were looking at a way that they could get water for their livestock,' Haskin said. 'We reached out to the Adams County Public Works Department to see if they could bring a tender in to fill up their water bales.'
At least 20 structures damaged by tornadoes in eastern Colorado on Sunday
Ronnie said community members and volunteers came out quickly to help in the midst of the chaos.
'The community really kicked in,' Ronnie said. 'There was probably about, I would say, easily 30 plus people out here last night, late into the night.'
Adams County's emergency notification process is managed by AdCom-911 using the CodeRed system. The sheriff's department tells FOX31 that residents also receive notifications from the National Weather Service through the Emergency Alert System. You can learn more about these systems here.
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