Colorado DUers please check in and tell us if you and yours are OK

[malaise]

The last time there were so many US citizens who needed to be rescued was following Hurricane Katrina. This is a huge disaster in Colorado - over 500 people are now unaccounted for - an eighty year old woman has been added to the casualties - presumed dead. Must have been terrifying for that poor woman.

What do people need most - this is serious

[kestrel91316]

1. What they need most right now is money for emergency

provisions/housing etc. They don't need "stuff" like blankets and old clothes.

When recovery efforts get organized, they will need volunteer manpower.

http://www.helpcoloradonow.org/

List of organizations to donate to: http://www.helpcoloradonow.org/index.php/responding-agencies

[malaise]

4. Thanks for the links

[otohara]

2. My Trucker Friend Said Signs Along Hgwy

NO STOPPING - apparently people are pulling over to take pics.

She's in Denver now and safe.

[Ohio Joe]

3. I'm in Aurora... It's not good but not near as bad as some areas...

My house has not had any flooding... Yet. There has been a number of houses in the neighborhood that have though. They were doing some evacuations a few miles down the road at Colfax & 225 and I think that area still has a lot of water. Last night was the worst for us, we had some wicked heavy rains come in around dusk and dropped a ton of rain in a very short period, in less then 20 minutes the roads went from dry to having almost a foot of water rolling down them... Wild stuff. The tornado sirens were also going off for a good 20 minutes and the way the clouds were rolling about, I really thought one would hit right on top of us. Last I heard, we were still going to be getting more rain today/tonight... We'll see.

[malaise]

5. Glad you're OK

Saw on GEM$NBComcast that it's raining again. Stay safe Ohio Joe

[etherealtruth]

40. Hoping you remain safe

[fizzgig]

6. checking in from fort collins

river is swollen and there has been some flooding, but we've really lucked out in comparison to most of the region. highway 14 up the poudre is closed, but i have not heard any reports of damage. 34 to estes, 66 to lyons and many more highways up to the hills have been wiped out. about 480 people in my county aren't accounted for, but power and phone lines are out and there isn't any cell service in the canyons, so it's assumed that people are just cut off.

dad lives on the northwest side of town and heard the choppers all day. they're likely grounded today as the rain has started back up. we had our 100 year flood back in 97 and this makes that look like nothing.

donate to the red cross is you want to help and thank you for the thread.

[malaise]

7. Stay safe

Hope your dad is safe as well

[fizzgig]

8. dad's up on high ground, too

but there was some flooding just to the north of him.

rain is supposed to clear up tomorrow, but i'm sure it'll be a few days before we get a good idea of the full extent of the damage.

i'm so sad about estes park and the big thompson. the husband and i go up there for a few nights a couple times a year. we were planning on going up there for our anniversary at the end of the month. i'm so sad this is why we won't be able to.

[malaise]

9. Thursday gone was the 25th anniversary

of Hurricane Gilbert. I remember bawling at the destruction in 1988. An old man told me that this too would pass and in seven years all the trees would be back. It took six weeks for water to return and eight weeks for electricity but it turns out he was right.

This keeps me going since.

[fizzgig]

13. we'll get through this

it's going to take a lot of time, but i know we'll bounce back. we had a huge fire last summer and i'm wondering how the houses in and around the burn scar are fairing.

[malaise]

24. A Colorado DUer was suggesting that the mudslides

a few weeks ago were caused because all the trees and vegetation were destroyed in the fire.
What a mess. Can I assume that the drought is now over?

[fizzgig]

27. we've had problems with mud slides off and on this year

there's nothing to soak it up.

we were still in a moderate drought and this brought us well above the annual average, many places have gotten as much rain this week as they see all year. but i'm wondering what it's done to the crops. farmer's have been hit hard in recent years.

[politicat]

53. No, unfortunately.

That would be the silver lining, but most of this rain is now in eastern Colorado or western Nebraska now. It didn't really have time to migrate past the topsoil and into the subsurface water table. Our surface got waterlogged, but the deep soil has been dehydrated and baked for so long that it more resembles potting clay than soil. Which partially explains the mudslides and flash-flooding.

Our reservoirs are full, so that's good, and this may help the Mississippi (once the top soil settles out and the trees that washed away get snagged) but in terms of drought remediation.... A year's rain in a week doesn't help.

[kestrel91316]

10. I remember that flood in 1997. That was my pre-internet days,

and when I heard it was Spring Creek and a mobile home park I couldn't remember exactly where that was.

My elderly, widowed grandmother lived in a mobile home park up College where you go north to Gregory Lake etc (and the highway turns west). I called her in a panic from here in SoCal and woke her up - she didn't know anything about the storm, lol. It wasn't her place that got destroyed but the one on College just south of Prospect.

That one made a mess out of the university.

[fizzgig]

11. i worked in the student union back then

i had no idea as to the extent of the damage and headed into work the next day only to find a lake where the basement had been. the basement of my friend's house was flooded, so we spent much of the day helping them clean up.

[kestrel91316]

17. I hear the Ramskeller had a river running through it........

[fizzgig]

26. it did

the whole basement level was wiped out. i worked on the second floor and there was water damage up there, too.

[kestrel91316]

29. OMG. I STILL can't figure out how all that water got over there from Spring Creek.

I think 8" of rain in an hour will just do that.............uphill or flat be damned...............

[fizzgig]

56. there's a ditch that runs though the field on the west side of the student center

i always assumed it came from there.

[kestrel91316]

59. I guess that's where the water for that tiny lake comes from.

I just never noticed a ditch in all my years there. And I still to this day would swear the land slopes DOWN slightly as you go SW from the student center.

[OneGrassRoot]

36. Good to hear from you!

[madamesilverspurs]

12. Greeley, here. Weld County.

I'm in a part of town where we haven't had flooding, but many of my friends can't say that. Haven't been able to connect with some who live in the part of Evans (south side of Greeley) that has been hard hit. Given the evacuations, they could be in one of the shelters or staying with family or friends; many people didn't even have time to grab phones or anything else as they jumped out the door. On the east side of town, highway 34 is washed out, farms are under water, homes are lost.

It's raining again.

[malaise]

15. I've been reading all your posts

Are landlines working?

Stay safe

[etherealtruth]

37. Hoping beyond hope that you remain safe

[DearAbby]

14. We are fine

High ground here, horrified by what has happened. We are staying put, out of the way. And praying.

[malaise]

16. Glad you're OK Dear Abby

[etherealtruth]

41. Hopes and warm wishes for you and all of Colorado

[Koko Ware]

18. Checking in. I'm on the top of the hill in Denver...

most of the flooding and standing water are about two or three miles east of me in Aurora. They finally reopened Alameda and Havana, but I'm afraid it might get shut down again due to flooding that we're having again..

[malaise]

20. Stay away from moving water

Looking at chopper rescues - this is freaking unbelievable.

Stay safe

[etherealtruth]

39. Wishes for safety for you and all of colorado

[kestrel91316]

19. Nearly 500 unaccounted for in Larimer County alone - this

doesn't include hundreds more in neighboring Boulder County.



ETA: I have a friend in Ft Collins and another in Morrisson. They are safe so far, both have homes up out of flood plains.

[malaise]

22. The sister of one of our close friends joined her husband

permanently at the beginning of last month. Our friend is off the island and I have no way of knowing if her sis and her hubby are safe. I'll get her mom's number tomorrow and see if they're OK. They're in Boulder County.

[kestrel91316]

25. Unless they lived up in the canyon or the mountains they are probably safe.

I know the geography pretty well there from when I lived in the Fort.

[Autumn]

21. East of Colorado Springs. We are fine just sick watching the devastation caused by this.

[malaise]

23. Glad you're OK

[Autumn]

46. We are having a light rain, and the pond in the front pasture is over flowing,

but that a good thing for us. This has been a hard drought.

[etherealtruth]

42. Hoping beyond hope y'all remain safe

[SheilaT]

28. A niece who lives in Longmont

got stuck in Boulder for two days. Yesterday she told me her home was just fine and expected to get back home later on.

[truebluegreen]

30. Re-posting this from a previous thread:

Boulder is my home town, although we are not living there now. This is what some friends of ours went through.

We finally got a hold of John last night. He and his wife live on the banks of Left Hand Creek on the plains 5? 7? miles from the mouth of the canyon. The creek runs along the south side of the 7-acre property and is lined by cottonwoods. Just north of the creek is John's shop, where he has woodworking tools, machine tools, all kinds of stuff. Fifteen feet north of that is a shed with lumber, doors, windows, building supplies, farm equipment. After another gap of 25 ft you find the attached garage, and two-story house. Behind all this is their organic farm (if society collapses John's the guy you would want in the foxhole with you--Mennonite background; can make / build / grow anything). The access road crosses the creek and runs along the west side of the property, the driveway is close to the creek and then curves left to the house.

A flash flood came down Left Hand Canyon in the middle of the night on Wednesday, with a big surge that took out the cottonwood trees (and, apparently, flattened our old driftboat; nobody has had time to look). It was still raining though, and the water kept coming. Debris was catching on the bridges above and below the property. Along the road in front of the house are more big trees, a hedge and a fence. John wedged scrap wood all along there and built the beginnings of a dam--debris from the floodwaters would eventually fill it in.

Something similar happened along the banks of the creek, although without design: pallets, wood, anything and everything that came down the creek jammed up against the fallen cottonwoods and their root balls. Unfortunately the bridge also created a dam and the water was high enough to top the knee wall (lower part of the railing) on the bridge and spill off to each side. The next available escape route was right down the driveway. John used his small tractor to build up two berms, one on either side, that directed the flow between the shop and the shed, into the fields and eventually back into the "creek" (it is a river now).

In front of the garage doors he built a barrier with a 16" glulam beam and sand bags, big rocks, whatever he could find or move, to direct the water back to the right and around into the field. The water came to within an inch of the top. If it had gone over, or if the dam had collapsed, water would have flowed straight down the basement stairs and filled the place up. It didn't, but it did cause the septic tanks to back up, and John and his wife spent 5 hours overnight Thursday bailing buckets of sewage out of the downstairs bathtub and hauling it outside. All of this was done without power, and only candles, flashlights and headlamps for light.

But. No water damage in the shop; nothing ruined in the shed, no more than a bucketful in the garage. The generator is running a sump pump for the septic tanks, to relieve that problem. Half the field was scoured of crops and topsoil, but the rest is still there, and the greenhouses.

John says he is more tired than he has ever been in his life.

[malaise]

31. I think I'd like John around in a disaster

Amazing indeed. Stay safe.

[truebluegreen]

32. Absolutely. Did I mention he turned 60 this year?

His wife is a year younger, and they had to do all that by themselves. They live on a dirt road with no outlet except...over the bridge.

[malaise]

47. Some folks learn survival early and never forgot it

I'm impressed

[DLevine]

33. Does anyone have info about Nederland?

Also, can someone tell me the condition of the Canyon road between Ned and Boulder? Will it be open any time soon?

[kestrel91316]

35. Per the Boulder Co FB page:

"The only route to and from Nederland to the foothills (Denver/Boulder) is Highway 119 through Blackhawk/Central City."

https://www.facebook.com/BoulderCounty

Boulder's emergency mgmt page: http://boulderoem.com/emergency-status

[DLevine]

38. Thanks for the info. nt

[malaise]

48. Stay away from moving water

Unless you need medical help or are trying to reach folks who are in a bad way, it can wait.

[politicat]

55. Ned's okay, just having to take the long way around.

Last I heard (yesterday afternoon) was power was okay, water okay, phones being flaky, gas in somewhat short supply. 119 (Boulder Canyon Blvd) is shot, but 72 is okay.

[DLevine]

65. Thanks so much for the info. nt

[kestrel91316]

34. Now reporting that Boulder has had a year's worth of rain in the space of 4 days.

[malaise]

44. Holy facting shite

No climate change here - moving along.

[Robb]

49. Guy on local news put it really well. Acre feet.

Consider when we talk about large amounts of water, we measure it in acre feet -- the amount of water involved to cover 1 acre of land with 1 foot of water.

A football field is about an acre.

We got 18,000 acre feet.

[backscatter712]

43. I'm OK, as are my folks.

Freakiest storm I've ever seen though. Thankfully, I wasn't in the path of the big floods.

[malaise]

45. And that's good news

Stay safe. Get ready for the mosquitoes.

[kestrel91316]

50. Not in Colorado, lol. Well, maybe in what few marshes there are. But not in September.

All that mud is going to be brick hard and dry faster than you can imagine.

[malaise]

66. Well that's good news n/t

[likesmountains 52]

51. From upstream of Boulder

http://videocenter.denverpost.com/services/player/bcpid1934477716001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAAADe65VU~,G496cZ36A_XPjUPASyGuL-ELCbXVnCj4&bctid=2671275786001

[seabeyond]

54. wowser. wow. that is horrible. nt

[malaise]

61. Good grief

Stay safe

[gopiscrap]

52. Prayers for all!

[politicat]

57. Okay in East Boulder County.

Our creek played nice, though the trail is fubar'ed. I guess I know how I'm getting my exercise for the next few weeks. Lafayette and Louisville managed to dodge most of the damage.

Tomorrow, I'm taking our spare coats, most of our socks and eight pair of boots and shoes into Bridge House. The Boulder homeless population got hit hard -- their primary shelters are wrecked, and Thursday, the emergency shelter turned them away*, so quite a few spent the night in the rain.

*which should not have happened and the Red Cross admits they screwed up.

[malaise]

62. Stay safe

[Blue_In_AK]

58. InTheFlow is fine,

although roads and bridges are out all around her.

[malaise]

64. InTheFlow's user name was well chosen

[Blue_In_AK]

67. It really was.

She's awesome. The pics she's been posting on Facebook of the devastation are heartbreaking. Fortunately my Colorado family and friends seem to be out of harm's way.

[DevonRex]

60. We're in Lone Tree and doing ok.

There are sections of I-25 that collect standing water really fast. Everybody who travels it knows it can be a pain in a normal storm. This isn't even close to Normal's distant cousin.

[malaise]

63. Stay safe