SANTA FE, New Mexico —
The National Weather Service confirmed that an EF-1 tornado touched down in Santa Fe Saturday evening, with peak winds of 110 miles per hour causing widespread damage in the downtown area.
The roof of a house was torn off, trees were uprooted and a mailbox was thrown from its post, according to residents.
“But this house. It’s the roof that’s in our front yard,” one resident said.
Phil Lucero described the impact on his home, saying, “Our air conditioning unit, our combined heating unit was knocked off the house. Our solar panels are potentially crushed. I can’t say. So. And you know, we lost our tree. It’s always disappointing.”
Lucero’s son, Xavi, 13, was home alone when the tornado struck.
“The winds were very strong and my wall started to shake. And then finally it became silent,” Xavi said.
He sheltered in the bathroom with their dog until the storm passed.
“I was really, really scared,” Xavi said.
Erin Cave, who lives on the street, described her anxious return home after receiving worried calls from neighbors during her child’s play.
“I came home not really knowing what to expect. Maybe I’m preparing for the worst, but uprooted trees are pretty scary,” Cave said.
A reporter described the scene at Cave’s home, saying: “I’m here at Erin’s house, where she came into this site last night. This mature tree had fallen on his wall, blocking this public path and leaving all this debris. She says she’s from Kansas and never had a tornado in her home until she moved to New Mexico.
Across the street, another woman shared her experience during the storm.
“We were in shock and frozen and we couldn’t move. We just had to sit there and listen to it go by,” she said.
On Sunday morning, neighbors were helping each other clean up the mess.
“Maybe that’s the positive side of this is that everyone has been really amazing and helpful and checking in on each other to make sure they’re OK,” Cave said.
Residents passed chainsaws from house to house, making sure no one had to face the aftermath of this rare tornado alone.
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