Family cleaning up after tornadoes near Simla

Homeowners are picking up the pieces after multiple tornadoes touched down near the town of Simla on Thursday afternoon.

Kyle Stodola watched a tornado form near his house.

“I went inside and got Kristin and said come and take a look at this,”Stodola said. “While we were standing there, another tornado came down, so that’s when we scrambled and ran inside,” he said.

Kyle and his wife, Kristin, brought their kids downstairs and took cover.

“We couldn’t see anything and the lights went out,” Stodola said. “Glass started blowing everywhere and then our basement door slams shut,” he said.

When the storm passed, the Stodolas went outside to look at the damage.

“We noticed the glass everywhere and noticed all of our outbuildings gone,”KristinStodola said.

The tornado destroyed two of their barns and broke several windows in their home. Neighbors stopped by to help clean some of the damage.

“We had about 10 people come last night and help us board up the house,”Stodola said. “We didn’t ask for the help, they just showed up and it was awesome,” he said.

The Elbert County Office of Emergency Management received six reports of damaged homes after the tornadoes. No injuries were reported.