One Flood....and Then Another

         As we enter into the last day of work here, one of the groups completed their assignment, my group has just about finished what we have set out to do, and the other two will hand off work to another team of Californians who will arrive on Saturday to continue the work. As an aside, still a third team of Californians will be here the week following, so the work will keep on until the winter snows come. It is supposed to snow a bit tonight, but these are not the winter snows...they are the reminder of more to come and the herald of Indian summer....it is supposed to be 80 on Saturday!

          I mentioned before that the home where we have been working was destroyed in a previous flood, the tragic flood of July 1976. What made that flood so tragic was that it came in the middle of the tourist season and 144 lives were lost. There was no warning as a flash flood came ripping down the Big Thompson Canyon, and many of the dead were tourists whose campers and tents fell before the rushing waters. Mrs. Hanson, the homeowner we are helping, said the flood was over and gone in 45 minutes, leaving carnage in its wake. It had rained a great deal up on the mountain, and in classic flash flood fashion, the rain-swollen river destroyed an area which had received no rain.

         The flood of 2013 was very different. It began raining on September 9, and it finally stopped on on the 12th. The rains covered a wide area and while the rivers rose rapidly, all of the rivers that drain the northern part of what is known as the Front Range overflowed their banks. Rivers merged together, combining their power, and soon everything was devastated. As I said in my earlier post, the Platte River, the river which received all of this rain, was over two miles wide in some places. Rainfall in a 72 hour period exceeded 24 inches....in an area with a seasonal normal of 15.

         Mrs. Hanson told us that while their house sustained damage in the 1976 flood, the recovery was easier, mostly because the speed of the flood kept the water, and its accompanying silt load from standing in the house. The rushing water rearranged the furniture and did some damage, but nothing like the damage of the standing water which filled their house for weeks after the flood. She showed us another picture, a picture of over a foot of mud on the living room floor---that is what did the damage. There was no mud in '76 and they were back in their home in about three months.

         I am glad the other teams are on their way out here because they are needed...and will be needed for a long time to come. I pray that through the loving work flowing into this area, that Mr. and Mrs. Hanson can celebrate Thanksgiving with their family in the first floor dining room of their home!