Denhoff, ND, Firefighter Loses Home to Tornado

The Denhoff firefighter was driving home after helping a friend when a tornado destroyed his house, leaving him with just a few clothes.

Sept. 18, 2025

6 min read

GRANT COURSEY and BLAKE NICHOLSON

The Bismarck Tribune, ND

(TNS)

A Denhoff, ND, resident who lost his rural home in Sunday’s tornado outbreak in central North Dakota said he is “overwhelmed” by the community support he has received.

Volunteer firefighter Kevin Vietz said he was spared by God during the storms because he was not home when a tornado ripped through his yard and destroyed his house.

“God spared my life. Because if I was home, I don’t know. Sometimes I do go in the basement when these storms come. Sometimes I don’t. And that day would have been one of those iffy ones,” Vietz said.

Vietz told the Tribune that he was only able to salvage some clothes and kitchen utensils from the wreckage of his home, as most of his belongings had been sucked out and scattered over roughly a mile by the tornado.

Vietz was driving home from helping a friend move farm equipment when he got the notification that a tornado had touched down near his home. While he was originally unconcerned because the report placed the tornado miles from his home, a neighbor calling to check on his well-being let him know what had happened to his property.

“He goes, ‘Are you at home?’ And I said, ‘No.’ He goes, ‘Oh, good because you’d probably be dead,’” Vietz said. “He said, ‘We watched that tornado hit your place,’ and he said it just exploded ... it looked just like it shows on TV when the tornadoes hit and debris flies everywhere.”

Vietz believes North Dakotans are pretty much always willing to come together and put aside small differences to help one another in times of need.

“I guess now it’s my turn,” he said.

Due to a difficult family situation Vietz has been unsure if he would be able to stay on his property, so he did not have insurance for his house. Two of his friends, Kalon and Danna Gesellchen, set up a GoFundMe to help him get back on his feet; it has already raised over $20,000.

“It’s not about the money, even though that’s needed, and it’s very helpful and I appreciate it,” Vietz said. “God is more important than material things, and material things can be replaced, but you know, human life can’t.”

Vietz plans to stay in the basement of his destroyed home while he comes up with a longer-term plan. He said he has received many offers of help from people, but has yet to get organized enough to take next steps such as clearing the debris of his home.

New Sunday tornado estimates

Weather experts working to compile details on Sunday’s tornado outbreak have revised the estimated number of twisters downward slightly.

“We are confident in at least 15 tornadoes touching down on Sept. 14,” the National Weather Service office in Bismarck posted. That would still push the annual tornado total for the state to a record.

There were 19 preliminary tornado reports between North Dakota and northern South Dakota on Sunday afternoon and evening as the system moved from south to north. Forecasters at the time said some might have been reports of the same tornado.

Even with 15 in North Dakota, the annual total to date will be 73, which is a dozen more than the previous record of 61 tornadoes in 1999.

“Our next step will be to work on tracks for as many tornadoes as possible, starting with those surveyed. This may still take days to complete,” the Weather Service said.

The EF ratings on the storms surveyed remain the same: an EF1 tornado near Mercer in McLean County, an EF2 in Emmons County near Beaver Bay and an EF2 near Denhoff in Sheridan County — the one that took out Vietz’s home.

The Enhanced Fujita Scale has six levels, from EF0 to EF5. An EF1 has estimated wind speeds of 86-110 mph, and an EF2 from 111-135 mph.

Two residences near Denhoff were hit by tornadoes, while there was also damage to a pole barn in the area and extensive tree damage in Sheridan County, according to Emergency Manager Delbert Hoffmann.

A metal outbuilding east of Cannonball and across the Missouri River was hit in Emmons County, according to Emergency Manager Mary Senger.

Summer of tornadoes

North Dakota has seen other tornado outbreaks this summer, with far more associated damage.

Storms June 20-21 linked to a rare derecho — a widespread, long-lived inland wind storm packing the strength of a hurricane — produced at least 20 tornadoes, some as strong as EF2 or EF3. The storms killed four people in eastern North Dakota and cut power to about 37,000 people across the state.

Storms Aug. 7-8 spawned 11 tornadoes in eastern North Dakota, all rated either EF0 or EF1. Those storms were defined by the Weather Service as a mesoscale complex — thunderstorms characterized in part by large size and prolonged activity, often occurring at night, with heavy rain, wind, hail, lightning and possibly tornadoes. More than 16,000 people across south central and eastern North Dakota lost power.

The Trump administration has granted a disaster declaration for the June storms — paving the way for federal aid to help with public response and recovery costs — and is considering a presidential disaster request from the state for the August storms.

There were no widespread power outages associated with the Sunday storm.

Wet week

The Sunday storms also dropped nearly 2 ½ inches of rain on Bismarck, a city record for the date. The rain fell in a short period of time in the afternoon, leading to flash flooding.

As of the end of Tuesday, the capital city had received just over 3 inches of rain in September, which is 2 inches above normal. The city for the calendar year had received just over 19 inches of precipitation — 3 ½ inches above normal, according to Weather Service statistics.

Heavy rain fell in Bismarck again on Wednesday, and rain was expected to persist across the state to finish out the workweek, with the highest chances on Thursday. Severe weather is not expected, according to forecasters.

The weekend forecast for Bismarck-Mandan calls for pleasant conditions — mostly sunny skies both Saturday and Sunday, with daytime temperatures in the 70s.

Astronomical summer officially comes to an end Sunday. The autumn equinox is on Monday, when the sun will be directly over the equator, and the day and night will be of equal length. Days will then begin to get shorter.