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BRUSH, Colo. (KDVR) — On Wednesday, Beth and Fred David Dirkes sat down for dinner. Little did they know they would have to rush to the basement as an EF1 tornado headed toward their home in Brush. 

“I looked and wondered was that dirt or smoke?” Beth Dirkes said. 

She said just moments later the tornado siren went off and the couple, both 86 years old, rushed to the basement and waited out the storm. 

“You could hear stuff flying around,” Fred David Dirkes said. 

When the storm finally settled and moved on, the couple went upstairs to find a portion of their roof missing, along with several windows broken and items blown all over their property. 

  • Fred David and Beth Dirkes look on the damage a tornado left in its wake on 5/10/2023. (KDVR) 5/15/2023
  • Beth Dirkes stands in front of her home, severley damaged by a tornado in Brush on 5/10/2023. (KDVR) 5/15/2023

“The most you hear is there is a tornado in someone’s pasture but never in my whole life would I think we’d be in one,” Beth Dirkes said. 

The couple, who have been married since 1956, built this home back in 2001. 

“At this age, you shouldn’t have to go through something like this,” Beth Dirkes said. 

Not only was part of their home severely damaged, but their barn has a portion of its roof that was ripped off and their wood storage building was blown to pieces. 

“Figured we’d finish it out here together. But who knows?” Beth Dirkes said. 

The couple feels lucky the tornado hit while they weren’t in bed so they could make it safely to the basement. 

“I think this was just a fluke,” Beth Dirkes said. 

They agree it’s hard to look at all the destroyed trees that once lined the property, but they have started to clean things up. Some items from the home were found blown over a mile away. 

“The pictures will show it all,” Beth Dirkes said. 

The couple has insurance and is starting to work with them while they live in a trailer on the property. Their grandkids started a GoFundMe to help hold their grandparents over as they learn what will happen to their home, a place they planned on being in forever.