Microburst Mystery Blamed For Tearing Roof Off Greeley Home
GREELEY, Colo. (CBS4)- What was originally thought to be an explosion turned out to be a probable microburst that destroyed the roof of a home in Greeley.
People living in the neighborhood near 49th Avenue Court told firefighters they heard what sounded like an explosion at about 2 p.m. Tuesday.
"Neighbors and people driving by thought it was some type of an explosion," said Greeley Fire Department spokesman Dave Lyman. "In talking to some of the neighbors, they said, yeah, we got some really weird kind of gusts of wind."
Andrew Pendergrass lives at the home with his father. He said he didn't know about the damage until he returned home.
"I couldn't believe it at first," said Pendergrass. "I turned the corner and saw it. No one called me or nothing. I just saw it when I got home."
There were pieces of the roof scattered throughout the neighborhood.
"There are pieces scattered everywhere. I guess there's a piece in the park," said Pendergrass.
Firefighters are attributing the damage to a microburst. Luckily, no one was home at the time and nobody was hurt.
"We are attributing it to a microburst. There's no other explanation," said Lyman.
Typically a microburst would cause a lot more damage to surrounding structures instead of targeting one home. The weather phenomenon also usually happens during thunderstorms or a heavy downpour, but none of those were happening at the time.
Regardless of what caused the damage, he and his father are taking it all in stride.
"It's not as bad as it looks," said Pendergrass. "Nothing is wrong with the inside, it just tore the roof off."
"Kind of surprised me, seeing these windows, they didn't break. Nothing's broken. Nothing's out of place."
Chad Thomas, an employee with RTC Restoration & Renovation, was out working on the house on Tuesday. He said the damage to the home will take time to repair.
"We're going to have to replace a lot, frame it back up and replace the decking and the roof," Thomas said.
"It's just stuff that happens, it just happened to be our time," said Pendergrass.
