DENVER (KDVR) — One Douglas County deputy had an eventful commute to work on Sunday after he saw a tornado forming around Elbert County.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said that Deputy Skalisky was driving to work on Sunday afternoon when he saw a tornado touchdown around Arapahoe. The sheriff’s office posted a video on X of Deputy Skalisky’s drive via his dash camera footage.
“I was like ‘that’s weird, that’s kind of a lot of dirt,’ then all the sudden I watched roofs come off houses and I was like ‘oh, that’s a tornado,” Skalisky said on the footage.
Tornado forming in Elbert County (Courtesy of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office)
In the video, Skalisky called Douglas Regional Dispatch to report the tornado, and said it was about 50 meters and coming up Road 194, heading northeast. He estimated between five and 10 homes were damaged.
The sheriff’s office said Skalisky then started to check on nearby residents and made sure there were no gas leaks. Skalisky assessed the damage and quickly found several homes that had damage from the tornado.
“Deputy Skalisky, who is also a trained paramedic, was in the right place, at the right time. We’re proud of his quick thinking, calm under pressure, and commitment to the safety of our neighbors,” the sheriff’s office said on X.
Several tornadoes hit Colorado across the Eastern Plains on Sunday, destroying at least 30 homes, delaying hundreds of flights and leaving many without power. While these are some of the first tornadoes of the season, they’re likely not the last in Colorado.

