PIERCE, Colorado — An animal rescue in northern Colorado is looking for help after wind destroyed five buildings on the property and damaged the rest.
Chris P's Rescue and Rehabilitation owners Krysta Steinmark and Jason Fixsel said their property is a mess, but they are grateful the loss was not much worse.
"We had one loss, and that was our rooster, so we’re pretty thankful that the handicap pigs that were in our rehab center—not one scratch on any of them, so somebody was watching over us for sure," Steinmark said. "They are pretty shook up, but they are doing fine."
The rescue takes care of about 100 animals -- mostly mini pigs, but other farm animals as well. When winds whipped through the area early Sunday morning, Steinmark said she felt helpless.
Animal rescue needs help after windstorm
"There's nothing you can do, and you just hear all this destruction happening as it’s going on and there’s absolutely nothing you can do," Steinmark said.
Steinmark and Fixsel had just raised enough money to put up a rehab center barn to help them assist injured and disabled animals. The structure went up in November, and after the weekend's windstorm, it landed about 100 yards away in their neighbor's driveway.
"It looks like a plane wreck came down and mangled our 30' by 50' facility," Steinmark said.
Fixsel said that structure was supposed to be rated for 140-mile-per-hour winds. A weather station in the area measured gusts up to 80 miles per hour.
"It was just like a roar," Fixsel said. "A constant, and it was like in your head, 'What is happening out there?'"
Right now, the owners are trying to figure out where the 100 animals will go. With fences broken and crumpled, and buildings damaged or destroyed, they want to get everything repaired and rebuilt to protect the animals they help.
"They're uprooted—we have some in the garage, some in our kitchen, some on the patio in makeshift places, and it’s not ideal for them," Steinmark said. "You can’t put 100 animals in your home. We thought everything was staked down well, but these winds were so fierce that they took everything that’s staked down."
Chris P's is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and relies on donations to keep everything going. While they wait on the insurance company to assess the damage, they are cleaning up what they can.
"We're looking for help cleaning up--it's just a mess," Steinmark said.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Severe Weather