Tornado Damage at Altair Farm
You may know long-time CSDEA member Pat Nimmerfroh as the organizing force behind our annual banquet each year. On the night of Friday, July 17, 2015, Pat's property, Altair Farm, was devastated by the EF-1 tornado that touched down outside of Watertown, MN.
Please see Anna Erbes's account below for more details. A friend of the Nimmerfrohs has established a
GoFundMe account to accept donations to help rebuild the farm, which you can access at this link:
http://www.gofundme.com/zp79js.
Dear Friends and Family,
I am more comfortable with giving than asking. However, when people we know are in' dire straights’, their urgent needs prompt me to ask you to consider making a contribution to gofundme to assist Pat and Daryl, owners of Altair Farm, for the financial need described below. ANY charitable amount donated would be greatly appreciated.
Last Friday at about midnight, a tornado ‘landed’ at Altair Farm. Due to the violent winds and thunder, owners Pat and Daryl did not hear the sirens warning of the impeding natural disaster. They were unaware of the danger outdoors until a huge tree landed on their roof, allowing the rain to enter their bedroom and the first floor below. Rather staying indoors during the storm to care for the damage to their home, risking their own safety and having no electricity, they ventured into their surrounding woods in the violent rain and wind towards their barn with flashlights to check on the 17 horses. To their horror, ALL three horse shelters were ‘missing’, along with the near miles of pasture and paddock fencing, barn equipment, gazebo, and four horse trailers. With flashlights, they were able to find all of the terrified pasture horses and bring them into the arena in the barn. Upon examination of the horses, three were given triage care until the vets could arrive the next morning after neighboring farmers cleared the road and their driveway of debris. Two of the horses had minor injuries, but Summer, their horse of 13 years, suffered an extreme slash in her withers. While in the indoor arena, the pasture horses circled around Summer, while one held her head over Summer's injured withers, and another attempted to prevent the humans from attending to Summer. The vets could not repair Summer’s injury. In the midst of the chaos that devastated the Farm, the humane decision was made to euthanize Summer that morning.
On Sunday and Monday, I went to Altair to assist with clearing the storm damage to secure the property for the safety of the horses. Word of the natural disaster spread quickly, bringing numerous friends and family members, along with ’strangers' who had learned of the natural disaster. In the ten years that I have ridden at the Farm, I did not recognize the sight before me. The three steel structures were ‘missing’, with pieces hanging from limbs in the towering trees 40-60 feet above the ground, naked of all leaves. Over 100 massive trees were ripped from the ground, bark shredded, tree tops sheared from the trunks, massive limbs strewn about, and steel and fencing debris littered in the woods and pastures for as far as the eye could see. The horse haven that Pat and Daryl had struggled together to build for 20 years was devastated.
Insurance will cover the damage to repair their home, but it does NOT cover the cost to replace the three steel shelters, the fencing, water troughs, feeders, and a multitude of farm supplies and equipment.To keep the horses safe, ALL of these items must be replaced/repaired as soon as possible, so that the boarded horses can remain at Altair Farm.
The National Weather Service confirmed that the storm was an EF1 tornado with 105 mile per hour winds. It is estimated to have ‘landed’ at the Farm for 4 minutes. The fury of Mother Nature made me pause to comprehend the extent of the damage. How and where does one begin to rebuild? How were more horses not severely injured when their shelters were ripped from the ground and catapulted through the air, the absence of their fencing, and paddocks littered with debris? The sight was near paralyzing. The personal and financial losses are so very many.
Channel 11 and the Star Tribune Newspaper have recently featured stories about the impact of the tornado at Altair Farm. You can search for coverage of the "Watertown Tornado" online. Below are a few of the photos that I have taken. They begin to share the arduous journey to rebuild "when all which was is no longer.”
Again, ANY charitable amount donated to gofundme, Rebuild Altair Farms, would be greatly appreciated, as would you sharing this email with others who think may be interested in making a contribution. Questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. In advance, thank you for your consideration.
Regretfully,