Devastating Iowa tornado claimed the lives of 4 family members
By
Allison Finch, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Mar 8, 2022 1:46 PM EST
|
Updated Apr 4, 2022 11:45 AM EST
The Bolger Family. (Credit: GoFundMe)
Devasting severe storms tore through central Iowa this past weekend, claiming the lives of seven people. Four of the victims were members of the same family who were huddled together in the pantry of a home that was demolished by a powerful tornado, according to The Associated Press.
The four victims have been identified as 63-year-old Melissa Bazley, 37-year-old Michael Bolger, 5-year-old Kinlee Bolger and 2-year-old Owen Bolger. Kuri Bolger, her husband, Michael, and their three children, originally from Blue Springs, Missouri, were visiting Kuri’s mom, Melissa Bazley, in Winterset, Iowa, when the tornado hit. Family members said Kuri, her 8-year-old son, Brysen, father and brother all survived the storm but were injured, according to the AP.
According to a GoFundMe page established for the family, Brysen was treated at the hospital and released with minor injuries and Kuri is still in the hospital with severe injuries.
Kuri's mother-in-law, Lynn Larson, shared that Kuri underwent surgery on her leg on Monday and was expected to undergo another surgery to repair broken bones in her arm.
"I just can't describe how wonderful Mike was. Everybody loved him," Larson told the AP. "It just rips your heart out. My grandchildren were wonderful. They were just the light of my life."
The GoFundMe page has raised nearly $465,000 for Kuri as of Tuesday afternoon and is closing in on its goal of $500,000.
"There is a long road ahead of them and their entire family as Kuri lost her mother in the disaster as well," the organizer of the GoFundMe fundraiser, Kayla Nutt, said in her post.
Two others that lived just houses down from Bazley were killed in the tornado. Those victims have been identified as Rodney Clark, 64, and Cecilia Lloyd, 72.
The National Weather Service (NWS) said on Monday that the tornado that claimed the lives of six people was rated an EF4 with peak winds of 170 mph with a path length of almost 70 miles.
"The EF4 tornado was on the ground for nearly 70 miles, the longest tornado path in the state since April 11, 2001, when a tornado began over the Missouri border and tracked a total of 76.5 miles into Iowa," said AccuWeather Senior Weather Editor and Meteorologist Jesse Ferrell.
About 54 miles southeast, a separate tornado also claimed the life of Jesse Theron Fisher, 40, of Chariton, Iowa, according to the AP. Fisher was in an RV at a campground at Red Haw State Park near Chariton when the storm struck, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The storms that wreaked havoc on Iowa Saturday were the deadliest to occur in the state since May 2008 when an EF5 tornado tore a 43-mile-long path in northern Iowa, killing nine people and leaving several millions of dollars in damage.
Saturday's storms that destroyed dozens of homes and businesses and created numerous power outages were followed by a winter storm Sunday into Monday. About 5 inches of snow fell in central Iowa, which prompted officials to cancel Monday's storm cleanup efforts.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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News / Severe Weather
Devastating Iowa tornado claimed the lives of 4 family members
By Allison Finch, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Mar 8, 2022 1:46 PM EST | Updated Apr 4, 2022 11:45 AM EST
The Bolger Family. (Credit: GoFundMe)
Devasting severe storms tore through central Iowa this past weekend, claiming the lives of seven people. Four of the victims were members of the same family who were huddled together in the pantry of a home that was demolished by a powerful tornado, according to The Associated Press.
The four victims have been identified as 63-year-old Melissa Bazley, 37-year-old Michael Bolger, 5-year-old Kinlee Bolger and 2-year-old Owen Bolger. Kuri Bolger, her husband, Michael, and their three children, originally from Blue Springs, Missouri, were visiting Kuri’s mom, Melissa Bazley, in Winterset, Iowa, when the tornado hit. Family members said Kuri, her 8-year-old son, Brysen, father and brother all survived the storm but were injured, according to the AP.
According to a GoFundMe page established for the family, Brysen was treated at the hospital and released with minor injuries and Kuri is still in the hospital with severe injuries.
Kuri's mother-in-law, Lynn Larson, shared that Kuri underwent surgery on her leg on Monday and was expected to undergo another surgery to repair broken bones in her arm.
"I just can't describe how wonderful Mike was. Everybody loved him," Larson told the AP. "It just rips your heart out. My grandchildren were wonderful. They were just the light of my life."
The GoFundMe page has raised nearly $465,000 for Kuri as of Tuesday afternoon and is closing in on its goal of $500,000.
"There is a long road ahead of them and their entire family as Kuri lost her mother in the disaster as well," the organizer of the GoFundMe fundraiser, Kayla Nutt, said in her post.
Two others that lived just houses down from Bazley were killed in the tornado. Those victims have been identified as Rodney Clark, 64, and Cecilia Lloyd, 72.
The National Weather Service (NWS) said on Monday that the tornado that claimed the lives of six people was rated an EF4 with peak winds of 170 mph with a path length of almost 70 miles.
"The EF4 tornado was on the ground for nearly 70 miles, the longest tornado path in the state since April 11, 2001, when a tornado began over the Missouri border and tracked a total of 76.5 miles into Iowa," said AccuWeather Senior Weather Editor and Meteorologist Jesse Ferrell.
About 54 miles southeast, a separate tornado also claimed the life of Jesse Theron Fisher, 40, of Chariton, Iowa, according to the AP. Fisher was in an RV at a campground at Red Haw State Park near Chariton when the storm struck, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The storms that wreaked havoc on Iowa Saturday were the deadliest to occur in the state since May 2008 when an EF5 tornado tore a 43-mile-long path in northern Iowa, killing nine people and leaving several millions of dollars in damage.
Saturday's storms that destroyed dozens of homes and businesses and created numerous power outages were followed by a winter storm Sunday into Monday. About 5 inches of snow fell in central Iowa, which prompted officials to cancel Monday's storm cleanup efforts.
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