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Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>Daily Cartoon: Tuesday, July 16, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Daily Cartoon: Tuesday, July 16, 2024

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's Feature Reporter, Andrew Rossi.

Andrew Rossi

Wyoming Life

Around Wyoming

Park County officials are still evaluating the damage done by a 

flash flood that nearly destroyed a bridge on County Road YXD along the South Fork of the Shoshone River southwest of Cody.

The flooding was reported around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, 

“We watched a wall of debris build up and surging muddy water begin to overflow the banks,” she said. “Huge logs were floating down the South Fork.”

The Park County Public Works Department announced that the narrow wooden bridge over Boulder Creek on County Road YXD, also known as Hunter Creek Road, 

Cowboy State Daily confirmed with county officials that the bridge is “structurally compromised” and a temporary bridge was being installed in the vicinity.

Until then, several people living on the opposite side of Boulder Creek are stranded while a temporary bridge is installed.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Hurry Up And Wait"}]

Park County engineer Brian Edwards was watching the flood across County Road YXD for most of Wednesday afternoon and evening. 

For most of that time, all he and the heavy machinery from the Park County Public Works Department could do was watch and wait.

The bridge was barely visible under the torrent of muddy water, splintered tree trunks, and massive boulders that had been carried onto the road by the flash flood. 

After three hours, Edwards wasn’t even sure if the flood had reached its peak.

“I’m pretty shocked that it’s hanging in there, to be honest with you.” Edwards told Cowboy State Daily at the scene. “It’s an old bridge and was already in pretty bad shape."

Even as Edwards watched, the flow of rushing water was expanding across the road. The roar of the water was punctuated with the loud, hollow thuds of tree trunks smashing into boulders and each other as they rushed down Boulder Creek.

“The guys will probably be here most of the night,” he said. “You don't want to put an operator or piece of equipment in danger trying to get to it, because you can do something that changes the direction of the flow and causes a bigger problem, or get somebody hurt.”

By 6 p.m., the summer sun had broken through the thick clouds over the South Fork. Edwards’s concern was the dark storm clouds over the mountains to the south, which indicated rain was still falling.

“It seems to be coming up even more,” he said. “With the clouds up there, it’s important to know if it’s still raining up high.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Mudslides, Too"}]

Someone was finally brave enough to drive an excavator into the flood, managing to remove a few boulders and one massive tree, but that was the extent of what could be safely done at the moment.

The road and bridge crews worked until 11:30 p.m. to clear a narrow path through three different mudslides in the area. The slides were more than 100 feet long and, in some places, more than 6 feet deep.

On Thursday, the wooden bridge was “closed until further notice,” Edwards said.

“It’s going to be a little bit before we get something temporary figured out, but it’s important,” he said. “Some landowners up there that have no other way in and out. That’s their only route.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"More Monsoons"}]

Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day said the flash flood was “classic monsoon” behavior. Several intense thunderstorms were reported in northwest Wyoming on Wednesday.

“I heard from someone in Thermopolis that they got 4.25 inches of precipitation in one hour on Wednesday,” he said. “Thermopolis usually gets around 9 inches of precipitation in the whole year.”

Flash flooding was also reported in Hot Springs County and the North Fork of the Shoshone River during the same period.

Day didn’t have specific statistics for how much precipitation fell on the South Fork on Wednesday, but “several small but intense thunderstorms” moved through the area when the flash flood occurred.

[{"type":"text","text":"For Day, these should be cautionary tales for Wyomingites."}]

“There’s a historical precedent for monsoonal rains and flash flooding in late July and August,” he said. “There’s a strong likelihood we’ll see more of these heavy thunderstorms and more flash floods for the next week.”

The Park County Public Works Department hoped to have a temporary bridge installed across Boulder Creek by the end of Thursday.

Edwards said the compromised wooden bridge had already been “high on our priority list for replacement.” 

[{"type":"text","text":"Wednesday’s flash flood made replacing it a top priority."}]

“We recognize that this is the only way in and out for several people who live on Hunter Creek Road,” Edwards said in a statement. “We will be working with local officials to get the road opened back up as soon as possible.”

Park County flooding IMG 0911 7 16 26

<title>Flash Flood Damages Bridge, Cuts Off Only Access For Park County Residents | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Park County officials say a Wednesday flash flood nearly destroyed a bridge over the Shoshone River and cut off access for some county residents. “We watched a wall of debris build up and surging muddy water begin to overflow the banks,” said one witness.

Flash Flood Damages Bridge, Cuts Off Only Access For Park County Residents

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Outdoors

Wildlife

Wind turbines kill thousands of Wyoming birds and bats every year, but a wildlife official says that emerging technology might help lower the kill count.

In 2025, wind turbines killed 1,160 large birds, such as raptors and waterfowl, Wyoming Game and Fish habitat protection program supervisor Will Schultz told the state Game and Fish Commission on Wednesday.

Turbine blades also killed 9,152 small birds, such as meadowlarks, and 13,423 bats, Schultz said.

Fast-spinning turbine blades aren’t always the most deadly, he added.

“A lot of the mortality for birds and bats happens at very low wind speeds, because they’re flying around and they’re not paying attention to those blades,” Schultz said.

The official tallies might not represent all the birds and bats killed by wind turbines, he said. The deaths are recorded by people, usually private contractors, who occasionally walk around underneath turbines and count carcasses.

Sometimes, dogs are brought in to help make the counts more accurate, Schultz said.

Wyoming’s bird and bat losses are generally considered to be within the acceptable range by region-wide standards, he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"What Can Game And Fish Do?"}]

Game and Fish doesn’t have the authority to approve or deny permits for wind power projects, Schultz said. That rests with the seven-member Industrial Siting Council under the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality.

Game and Fish works closely with project permit applicants, usually long before ground is broken, he said.

Biologists determine what effects a project might have on Wyoming’s birds, wildlife, fish and plants, Schultz said. And they can offer guidance on how to lessen the effects on wildlife and the environment.

Game and Fish can also advise the Industrial Siting Council about what permit conditions might help save wildlife and conserve the ecosystem, he said.

Once a wind farm is up and running, Game and Fish can also help monitor its effects on wildlife and offer ideas for mitigation, he said.

Commissioner John Masterson asked Schultz if Game and Fish has the authority to tell a wind energy developer, “You have way exceeded the acceptable number of raptors that have been killed, you have to shut down until we figure that out.”

Schultz said in such an instance, Game and Fish could bring its concerns before the Siting Council, but only the council has the authority to shut a wind farm down.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Mitigation Efforts"}]

Technology might help stem the tide of bird and bat deaths, Schultz said, adding that it’s been a common practice to post people with binoculars on wind farms.

Those people can watch for birds, particularly raptors, and shut turbines down, which allows for eagles and hawks to fly through safely, Schultz said.

Increasingly, a technology called IdentiFlight makes it unnecessary to post people on site, he said.

The system uses cameras to monitor bird traffic and can automatically shut down and restart turbines as needed, Schultz said.

In some cases “painting one blade of a wind turbine black” help birds see it before it’s too late, he said, adding that hundreds of hours of work and research have gone into wind farm risk mitigation.

Anti-Wind Farm Activist Remains Skeptical

Laramie resident Anne Brande, founder of the Albany County Conservancy, has lobbied against wind farms for years.

She wasn’t at Wednesday’s Game and Fish Commission meeting, but told Cowboy State Daily that she appreciates the department’s efforts to mitigate bird deaths.

She’s particularly concerned about golden eagles.

Wyoming has a significant resident population of the large raptors that favor wide-open country, where they can hunt rabbits and prairie dogs.

The state’s population of golden eagles is also thought to 

 when many of them migrate in from the north.

Golden eagles’ preferred habitat puts them at greater risk of hitting wind turbine blades, Brande said.

And the secondary effects of power lines spreading out from wind farms also isn’t considered, she said.

Golden eagles can be easily disturbed by too much human activity and new structures, which might cause them to abandon their nests, Brande said.

The eagles are also a key “indicator species” of how well Wyoming’s ecosystems are doing, she said.

“If every single golden eagle nest if valuable, can we afford to screw up?” Brande added.

She thinks the number of eagles, other birds and bats killed by wind turbines are undercounted “big time.”

While systems such as IdentiFlight might help, Brande said she’s skeptical whether that will be enough to make a real difference.

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<title>Wyoming Wind Turbines Killed More Than 23,000 Birds And Bats Last Year | Cowboy State Daily</title>

More than 23,000 birds and bats were killed by wind turbines in Wyoming in 2025, according to a report presented Wednesday to the state Game and Fish Commission. “They’re flying around and they’re not paying attention to those blades,” said an official.

Wyoming Wind Turbines Killed More Than 23,000 Birds And Bats Last Year

 shook things up enough in Yellowstone National Park on Thursday morning for people 

The epicenter of the 7:20 a.m. earthquake was along the Grand Loop Road, south of Canyon Junction, at a depth of 6.53 kilometers. That’s just over 4 miles beneath the surface.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), at least 14 people reported feeling the earthquake within 30 miles of the epicenter. Its intensity was low, and there were no reports of damage.

The USGS categorized the earthquake as a III “Weak” on the Modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) scale. That means the quake’s energy would be noticeable but not much stronger than the vibrations caused by a large truck driving by.

It's not even the largest earthquake in Wyoming this week. A magnitude 3.5 earthquake was detected west of Rock Springs on Tuesday.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"All Shook Up"}]

Earthquakes are a very common occurrence in Yellowstone, one of the most tectonically active places in North America. According to the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, there were 118 earthquakes detected in June alone.

Thursday morning’s magnitude 3.3 quake was Yellowstone’s largest of the year so far, but a few earthquakes of that magnitude are expected every year.

“Earthquakes that get into the magnitude 3 range are rare, but there are usually three to 10 of those in the Yellowstone area every year,” Mike Poland, scientist-in-charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, 

. “The vast majority of earthquakes are magnitude 2 and below.”

In 2025, there were 1,119 earthquakes located in and around Yellowstone. The largest quakes were three magnitude 3.7 events.

That was a “quiet year,” according to Poland. In an average year, there are between 1,500 and 2,500 earthquakes detected in Yellowstone.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Catching The Feels"}]

When a magnitude 3.9 earthquake hit Yellowstone in January 2025, the largest quake in the park since 2023, it wasn’t even detected on 

 installed at the Wyoming Geological Survey's headquarters in Laramie.

"We were about 350 miles from the epicenter,” said geologist James Mauch. “It was a bit too far away and low in magnitude to detect in Laramie.”

According to Mauch, magnitude 3.0 earthquakes are “very typical activity for Yellowstone.” 

They might be slightly stronger than the average Yellowstone earthquake, but not strong enough to be unusual, he said.

“We typically get around five ‘felt’ earthquakes every year, so this is right in line with the average,” he said.

What the earthquake doesn’t indicate is any significant change in Yellowstone’s volcanic systems. Even at a depth of 4 miles, Thursday morning’s quake was too shallow to indicate anything volcanic, which is true for most of Yellowstone’s earthquakes.

“Because there are so many faults in the region and a lot of water moving around in the subsurface, Yellowstone is a recipe for lots and lots of earthquakes,” Poland said. “There’s nothing particularly anomalous about (a magnitude 3.3 earthquake), and none of these quakes are associated with any volcanic activity.”

Yellowstone Lake and earthquake Mauritius Images via Alamy 7 16 26

<title>Yellowstone Records Earthquake Thursday Morning, Felt 30 Miles Away | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A magnitude 3.3 earthquake in Yellowstone on Thursday was felt by people as far away as 30 miles. It’s the largest earthquake of the year so far in the national park. “We typically get around five ‘felt’ earthquakes every year,” said a geologist.

Yellowstone Records Earthquake Thursday Morning, Felt 30 Miles Away

Guest Column

Guest Columnists

“Lead, follow, or get out of the way,” is a phrase coined by my great uncle, General George Patton. It was also a favorite of Lee Iacocca’s, a champion of American industry and leadership. 

Both men did incredible things for our country, one leading the Third Army on their way to winning an impossible war against unspeakable evil and the other, helping to lead an industry out of near certain bankruptcy while helping to revitalize a vital sector of America’s economy.

It's an adage of courage and confidence, not one of temerity and passivity. Donald Trump is a great president because he, like Reagan before him, is a man of action born of confidence in himself and the greatness of our country.  

I wonder if the current conversation about data centers, artificial intelligence, and American ingenuity will continue to be fueled by the traditional American belief in our ability to meet challenges head on and solve them, or if now is the time we will turn to worrying about what horrible things will happen if we act.

Maybe that is the sentiment of the time, and if it is, it comes at precisely the time when this president is asking us to make America Great Again. What irony! Right now, we have far too much wringing of hands, saying no to almost everything, and not enough leading.

Take for instance my colleague in New York state, Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY), who has just put a one year pause on the construction of any new large AI data centers in her state. She chose sensation over sense. What short-sighted thinking. Her response is not sober reflection and prudent policy, but political faint-heartedness. 

Let me be clear: as governor, I do not support any state-mandated moratorium on building data centers in Wyoming. The job of deciding whether to encourage the building of data centers falls, as it should, on the more than capable shoulders of our local communities within the constraints allowed by the legislature. 

As with most development, it is the communities, counties, and local boards who do the heavy lifting in economic opportunity. We shouldn’t change that now. I believe, as our founders, that government closest to the people has the ability to fiercely protect their own homes and families.

Governor Hochul and her leftist friends in Albany are swallowing the dictates of their far left supporters, by banning the fracking of oil and gas in New York state, blocking pipelines conveying gas to the Northeast, and now by banning data centers. And to what end?

Lost economic opportunities only hurt the communities, workers and families in her state that would benefit from the tax revenues and the jobs brought by these companies–while compromising our nation’s security and leadership.

America has had enough of “Build Absolutely Nothing Near Anybody” dogma. We are a great nation not because we did not do anything, but because we worked hard to do it right and to do it well.  

Leadership is the will to keep going even in hard times. Leadership requires perspective, objectivity, careful consideration, and initiative as much as it does direction to navigate through the maze of conflicting information and disinformation whether generated from the far left or the far right. It’s true for agriculture. It’s true for energy. And it's true for business. 

President Trump, in his recent statement decrying Hochul’s disastrous decision said this, “Data centers are tremendous wins for the states and communities that are lucky enough to get them.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"I concur. "}]

He is exactly right. They use our energy here, energy over 80% of which we currently ship to states who have tried to control how, where, and what we develop.

They can be built to conserve our water and compliment our communities. This is not some doe-eyed endorsement of all tech; it is an endorsement of Wyoming people, whom I know and respect, that we can do it the right way.  

President Teddy Roosevelt famously said, "People of Wyoming, I believe in you and in your future." He was not saying that to people who lacked courage, were reluctant to engage, or were happy to let things happen to them. He was talking about people who carved their future from what was given to them. 

, requires Wyoming’s state agencies to prosecute current law to the limits granted them by the Legislature, and it also asks them to bring back recommendations for improvement within the coming month. Those  will be reviewed, refined, and forwarded to the Legislature for their consideration in 2027.

In meantime, I call on all Wyomingites to reject election-year fearmongering, to reflect soberly on the issues, and to join me in leading Wyoming into a bright future. 

My great Uncle also said, “If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.” Here in Wyoming we raise sheep, we do not act like them.

Mark Gordon is the 33rd governor of Wyoming

Gordon headshot 7 16 26

<title>Guest Column: Data Centers — Lead, Follow, Or Get Out of the Way | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon writes, "President Trump, in a recent statement said this, 'Data centers are tremendous wins for the states and communities that are lucky enough to get them.' I concur. He is exactly right."

Guest Column: Data Centers — Lead, Follow, Or Get Out of the Way

is a book published in 1971 by Saul Alinsky, a radical leftist community activist who wrote from his decades of pro-Communist organizing efforts. Alinsky died shortly after its publication, but Rules for Radicals has lived on, even shaping today’s neo-Marxist reunion tour now sweeping Blue states and universities near you. 

In a recent article published in Salon, the headline reads, “Trump Revives the Red Scare,” accusing the president of reviving the old wave of anti-communism from the 1950s. Actually, I don’t think President Trump is the originator of the most recent “Red Scare” at all – not when today’s Democrat Party is doing such a fine job on its own. 

Last month, Democrats in Denver nominated a self-declared Socialist for U.S. Congress on her promises to deliver Soviet-style free stuff for everyone. Her empty, laughable promises are covered by Alinsky rules 1 and 2. 

Maine Democrats nominated a loser Communist (his word, not mine) with the added bonus of a Nazi tattoo to represent them in the U.S. Senate before deciding that serious, credible rape allegations (but not his Nazism or Communism) made him unfit for that office. Nevertheless, it is conservatives who the left brands “Nazis" and “Christian Nationalists”, per Alinsky’s rules 3-5. 

On July 3, New York Mayor, radical Islamist, trust fund baby and avowed Socialist Zohran Mamdami delivered a speech from George Washington’s desk, where he attacked everything about America on its birthday. When did “Make America Great Again” become dirty words, and “the warmth of collectivism” become okay? Pure Alinsky. 

And lest we think Wyoming is above all this, Gillette, Wyoming’s community organizations were barred by Campbell County Parks & Recreation officials from handing out U.S. Constitutions and Bibles during the Independence Day 250 parade. Is July Fourth really the best day to trash the very FIRST Amendment to the American Constitution? Socialists must control the media and other freedoms of speech to promote their bad ideas, again, straight out of the 

Add to the 250th anniversary celebration of our Declaration of Independence that Lander parade-goers – including kids – were handed free condoms by the local LGBT advocacy group. 

Since when are free condoms protected by the Constitution while Bibles are not? 

What do all of these outrages have in common? They are perpetuated by people who hate everything about our nation and culture. They hate anything like the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, and anyone like Donald Trump, for promoting free markets, less burdensome government, justice and liberty for all. 

Socialism/Communism -- flip a coin -- is focused on creating a “utopia” in which seizing wealth and killing prosperity allows everyone to live in equal misery. Our founding fathers were wise in understanding human nature and choosing a republican form of government, which thrives with free markets. 

When markets are free and the people are moral, the economy soars and folks share prosperity with their less fortunate neighbors. This system has led to the greatest and most compassionate nation on earth with a record of helping and improving the quality of life for all of humanity. Something we SHOULD be proud of! 

Every Marxist advance has led to failure of productivity, starvation and mass death. Well over 100 million people perished in the name of Marxism (Socialism, Communism -- potato, po-tah-to) during the 20th century. 

Even Wyoming Democrats refuse to distance themselves from these avowed communists who hate America (Zohran Mamdani, Graham Platner, Melat Kiros, AOC, and Bernie Sanders). Wyoming Democrats lead the attacks on the Wyoming Freedom Caucus while supporting the same Republican candidates who think your inalienable rights should be conditional. If you believe they will stop before coming for your guns and property, you haven’t studied history. 

The leader of Gillette’s Parks and Recreation department is a Republican candidate for the Wyoming State Senate. The staffer who made the decision to prohibit passing out U.S. Constitutions on our nation’s 250th birthday is campaign manager for a Republican candidate for the Wyoming House. Misdirection from Saul Alinsky’s 

Donald Trump is hardly the one inciting the new “Red Scare. Not when even Wyoming Democrats and weak sauce Republicans are advancing Saul Alinsky’s radical principles right here in the heart of the American West. 

How long before Wyoming elects a socialist? It could be sooner than later if they run as Republicans. 

Rep. John Bear represents House District 31 in Gillette

John bear headshot 7 15 26

<title>Guest Column: How Long Before Wyoming Elects A Socialist? | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Rep. John Bear writes, "Gillette’s community organizations were barred from handing out U.S. Constitutions and Bibles during the Independence Day 250 parade. Is July Fourth really the best day to trash the very FIRST Amendment to the American Constitution?"

Guest Column: How Long Before Wyoming Elects A Socialist?

Kerry Drake

CHEYENNE — The day after Gene Holthus’ home in Cheyenne’s Buffalo Ridge subdivision was gutted on July 16, 1979, he stood outside taking photos of the destruction. 

His three sons were busy trying to salvage anything they could from the house as Wyoming National Guard helicopters flew overhead to protect the neighborhood from looting.

Holthus told the Wyoming State Tribune that he was at work at the Wyoming Highway Department when he saw the huge twister rip past the Game and Fish Commission.

“I immediately called my wife, Alta, and told her to get in the basement,” Holthus said. “She didn’t know a thing about it.”

He said the next few minutes were terrifying as he waited for a chance to get home. Holthus learned that a gas main had broken in his basement.

“Somebody called the fire department and within about five minutes they came and dug my wife out of the basement,” he recalled. “Thank God she only had a few scratches.”

As Holthus continued talking to the reporter, one of his sons came running up and handed him an envelope he’d found several blocks away. It contained vivid color photographs of the family’s garden, which was now buried under rubble.

Holthus looked at every one of the photos. 

“I just can’t believe that something this small could remain intact while bigger things were totally destroyed,” he said. 

The reporter told him he was sorry about everything his family lost. Holthus turned around and pointed at the house.

“This can all be replaced,” he said. “We survived. And I’ll treasure these photos and all the memories.”

Holthus died in 2015, but he and his family had survived what 47 years later is still the most destructive tornado ever recorded in Wyoming. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"9-Mile Path Of Destruction"}]

The tornado that touched down was not only rare for the capital city, Cheyenne had never had one within city limits prior to July 16, 1979. 

The tornado was officially an F-3, using the EF scale that ranks tornados by damage intensity. But some scientists believe it was even more fierce, an F-4, based on the intensity of destruction it left behind.

The tornado first formed around 3:10 p.m. near the intersection of Vandehei Avenue and Valley View Road. Peak winds were estimated between 136-165 mph.

Its path through the city was 8.8 miles, which it traveled in about 30 minutes. 

The massive twister was 80 yards wide, or four-fifths as long as a football field.

It was the most destructive tornado in Wyoming’s history, and it caused one death: 14-month-old David McKinnon, who the Laramie County coroner at the time said died instantly from head injuries when his family’s trailer was ripped apart by the black funnel cloud.

Damaging about 400 homes, including 140 that were destroyed, the total property damage was estimated at $25 million, which is the equivalent to 

As people dug through the rubble, called insurance adjusters, and talked to friends and family about their ordeal, one thing about the natural disaster seemed universally described by survivors as miraculous. 

How could such an enormous tornado wreaking havoc for such a long time have not killed more people?

“This was my first major crisis,” Don Erickson, Cheyenne’s mayor from 1977-1989, told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday as he recalled the challenges he faced when the tornado hit the northern part of the city. 

“We had to show the community a lot of confidence, that we were doing the best we can,” he said. "And we did. We had a great team.”

Erickson, 89, can vividly describe everything he saw happen the day the tornado hit.

“I was sitting in my office with my risk manager looking through this great big window,” he said. “I thought, ‘My God, it looked kind of weird out there.’ Big black clouds coming around, and I said, ‘Let’s go up on the roof and see what’s going on.’”

Within 10 seconds of arriving on the rooftop, Erickson said that, “There was a big blast north of City Hall. Later on, we found that a transformer over by the governor’s mansion had been struck by lightning.”

Dave Guille, the head of civil defense for the city, called to tell the mayor that a tornado had hit the north side of Cheyenne.

Erickson, who had just dealt with one shock, called Cheyenne Police Chief Byron Rookstool, and together they made a hurried trip to the scene.

“The rescue effort was underway, and the devastation was amazing,” Erickson said. “We were so lucky that people were working and the kids weren’t quite home yet.”

He flew in a National Guard helicopter to see the path of destruction. 

“We’re fortunate that the Frontier Mall wasn’t built yet on Dell Range. It would have had a tremendous amount of damage,” he said.

Erickson said Gov. Ed Herschler immediately declared Cheyenne a disaster area.

Erickson said the entire city rallied to help take care of anyone impacted by the disaster. Scores of people opened up their homes to those who had lost theirs. 

Esther Howard formed the Interfaith Task Force, which brought local organizations together to coordinate how they could help anyone who needed it.

Erickson resurrected the group when had his next big crisis, which also involved disastrous weather that Cheyenne had never seen before: the Aug. 1, 1985, flood, which killed a dozen people and caused more than $51 million in damage. 

He said he took what he learned from the tornado tragedy, and that it helped prepare him for the even bigger disaster.

It was 47 years ago on July 16, 1979, when a massive tornado ripped through Cheyenne, leveling hundreds of homes and killing a 14-month old. Decades later, it’s still the most destructive tornado in Wyoming history.

Daily Cartoon: Tuesday, July 16, 2024

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