PUEBLO, Colo. — On Saturday, a powerful storm hit the Pueblo area, causing significant damage to boats and a marina at Lake Pueblo State Park.
Mike and Janice Rose were on a boat celebrating 27 years of marriage when the storm hit.
“I’ve never been that frightened ever. I felt like I could possibly die,” said Janice. “It was like a tsunami came in.”
“Gale force winds. We felt like were out in a class 4 hurricane,” added Mike.
Boats were tossed ashore like toys in a bathtub. A pontoon boat was literally split in two.
“It crushed the dock. You could see it. Boats were wedged underneath it. Boats were sitting on tops of boats. It was just insane,” said Mike.
The Roses were in the middle of the lake when the storm hit and were trying to make it back to the marina.
“By the time I reached the three-mile mark, I was dealing with 8- to 10-foot whitecaps,” Mike said.
Janice clutched the family’s two dogs and held on while she and her son prayed.
“It was too late to turn around, so we were stuck,” Janice said.
Mike, a Navy veteran, survived a similar storm years ago, but that one was a typhoon in the ocean, and he was aboard an aircraft carrier.
“That’s the only thing I had to compare it to,” he said.
Eventually, the Roses made it to the marina.
“It took me 40 minutes to go 2 miles,” Mike said.
They’re now just thankful to be alive after weathering yet another storm together.
“If we close our eyes, we feel it. It’s still reeling in our heads. I still dream about it, but we’ll make it through. We will,” said Janice.
Park rangers believe close to 20 boats were damaged in the storm. The North Shore Marina was heavily damaged and is closed indefinitely. Boat owners are currently being ferried into the marina to retrieve their boats.