Monday wind storm falls short of January event

Except for two incidents in Fremont County, Monday’s strong winds caused little of the damage seen across southern Colorado during a more powerful wind storm in early January.

In Cañon City, a tree fell on a car while the driver was inside, and in Westcliffe, a combination Shell gas station/Subway restaurant sustained roof damage. No injuries were reported in either incident.

By comparison, January’s storm felled hundreds of trees and fences, knocked out power to many homes and overturned a number of high-profile vehicles.

Wind speeds from Monday’s storm were recorded as high as 70 mph — at least 30 mph less than the peaks of January’s storm.

Many people learned from the previous storm and spent time Monday ensuring that loads in pickup trucks, materials covered with tarps at construction sites and other items were secured.

Laurie Heidenger recently repaired part of her fence damaged in January, only to find new damage on another section of fence Monday.

“I heard a big crack around two in the morning,” she said. “My handyman put together sort of an emergency prop to keep the fence from falling over.”

Heidinger said she and one of her next-door neighbors will split the $2,000 cost of repairing the fence.