(WKYT) – Two game wardens were given an award by KSP Commissioner Phillip Burnett Jr. for their response to an EF-4 tornado in 2025.
The tornado caused destruction in Laurel, Pulaski and Russell Counties and remained on the ground for nearly 60 miles at wind speeds of 170 mph, according to KSP. The tornado killed 19 people.
KSP says wildlife game wardens Captain Jerrod Alley and Warden Braxton Cottongame immediately took action alongside KSP troopers and worked hard to rescue a man that had been trapped by a tree for nearly three hours in Pulaski County.
Alley and Cottongame were presented with the KSP Commissioner’s Award, which KSP says is bestowed upon non-KSP personnel or civilians who “distinguished themselves by performing a lifesaving act or a meritorious achievement.”