HOLLY - Federal officials estimated Friday that at least two dozen homes were either destroyed or left uninhabitable by a powerful tornado that ripped through this farming community near the Kansas border.

In all, about 160 homes were damaged, an estimated one- third of the buildings in the town of 1,000 people.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency released those figures, roughly triple earlier estimates, after a walking tour of the town with Small Business Administration representatives and city and county officials.

Weather Service officials rated the force at EF3 - meaning wind blowing up to 165 mph - on the Enhanced Fujita scale. The scale tops at EF5, for winds over 200 mph.

FEMA's preliminary damage findings will be turned over to Gov. Bill Ritter to aid in the decision-making process to request federal aid and declare it a disaster.

FEMA will likely recommend that the governor declare the town a disaster area, said Chris Sorensen, a Kiowa County official serving as a spokesman for local government on the tragedy.

As the cleanup continued Friday, exposure to asbestos became a growing concern. Many of the destroyed homes were older and likely built with asbestos products, a dangerous fiber no longer used in construction that could cause respiratory illness.

At least 1,000 particle-restricting masks were delivered Friday night for volunteers.

More than 250 dump truck loads of debris were delivered to a dump north of town by Friday afternoon.

Kindergarten teacher Dwana Salisbury helped sort through the rubble.

Among the debris she found a can of gold spray paint and a mostly intact wall from one home. "Thank You God. We are Okay," she wrote on the wall with the paint.

"We are all alive, and we are all OK," Salibury said as her two young sons sifted through the rubble nearby. "Material things can be replaced, and we all have strong faith in God."

Authorities said the conditions of injured victims Friday were as follows:

• Robert Eastin was flown from Prowers County Medical Center to Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs as his condition worsened. He was in serious but stable condition.

He and his wife, Jeannie, 67, hid in a bathtub during the tornado and were thrown from their home, which was destroyed.

Jeannie Eastin was flown Wednesday night to St. Mary Corwin in Pueblo.

• On Friday afternoon, Esther Truman, an elderly woman, was taken by ambulance to Lamar after she fell on her front porch.

• Town mayor Tom Crum, 58, was treated for an eye injury and not hospitalized.

• Gustavo Puga, 28, and Noelia Puga, 3, the husband and the daughter of Rosemary Rosales, who was killed in the tornado, remained at Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs. Gustavo was moved out of intensive car and is in fair condition. Noelia is in good condition.

• Delores Burns, 76, was upgraded to good condition at Parkview Hospital in Pueblo, where she was being treated for two broken shoulders, broken ribs and other injuries.

• Louise Neill, 89, who was flown to Swedish Medical Center in Denver, was released Thursday.

• Officials in Holly said another victim was flown to Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs, but the victim's identity was undisclosed and hospital officials did not return calls to verify the report.

Tornado recovery

2,000 meals served by Red Cross to volunteers and residents.

1,000 breathing masks to block asbestos believed to be in many of the damaged or destroyed structures.

250 volunteers involved in the cleanup.

300 yards was the width of the tornado's path.

7 miles was the length of the tornado's path on the ground

How to help

• Red Cross: Send checks to 444 Sherman St., Denver, CO 80203, or donate online at www.denver-redcross.org.

• Salvation Army: Send checks to the Salvation Army "Disaster Relief," P.O. Box 2369, Denver, CO 80201; or donate online at www.imsalvation army.org.

Multimedia

• See a slide show and video of the cleanup in Holly at Rocky MountainNews.com.

prietob@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5219

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