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<br />Denver The Denver Post: July 9, 2006 -Page 19a
<br />Circulation: 306,000 daily, 601,000 Sunday. Continued From -Page 1 a
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<br />FLOODS: Torrential
<br />rains hammered ground
<br />that could hold no more
<br />
<br />< CO~TlNUED FROM lA
<br />
<br />ing again during steady rain, but
<br />not to the levels it reached Fri-
<br />day,
<br />Fredin said he expectcd an av-
<br />erage of o.S-inch of rain to fall in
<br />portions ofP3tk, Douglas, Jeffer-
<br />son and Elbert counties Satur.
<br />day J\igh~
<br />Gov..BiU Owens on Saturday
<br />d~cI1ir'ea 3' disaster emergency
<br />in:eounties affected b,' flooding.
<br />The!\lcclaratipn allows for state
<br />3ild ance.
<br />':BC,ilin, 4-.4- who works at
<br />Pia :uJey Liquors in Deck-
<br />ers."bid .some structures that cs~
<br />caped the wratb of tbe Hayman
<br />flie:in 2002,- the largest wild-
<br />r.few Colorado hi~tory at about
<br />138,(loo acres...., "got nailed hy
<br />Ihe flood,"
<br />,Ga1n said one woman escaped
<br />f~o",! the rising Horse Creek by
<br />scrambling up the side of. hill.
<br />
<br />Firefighters rescued her. He said
<br />firefighters also came to tbe aide
<br />of a drunk who was wandering
<br />perilously dose to the raging
<br />creek.
<br />Closer to Denver, a large boul-
<br />der feU on V,S, 6 WC$t of Tunnel
<br />2 in Clear Creek Canyon, as the
<br />torrential rain hammered the sat-
<br />urated ground in J efferson. Dou~
<br />:glas, park and Elbert c(luntiC$.
<br />.. . The boulder !.md.d on the car
<br />pfTomasz Hemo, 26, who had
<br />. gone rock climl1ing with a. friend.
<br />'; As heretu~ped _to, his ~'fC
<br />\.saw ymcrgency "chicles' wijete
<br />he had parked his gold 1999 Toy""
<br />ot" Camr'y.
<br />He thought his car had been
<br />, towed but' le3toed it IVai'
<br />'c~hed beneath the boulder. '
<br />"I was so shocked and pan-
<br />icked," he said, ''I'm going to the
<br />salvage yard tomorrow~ cut the
<br />car into ph~ces: and see if 1 can
<br />get my phone and my CDs. It's
<br />
<br />Kathryn StOtt 0$11:1" I The Oil'l\\If:( p(l~t
<br />
<br />In Westcreck, a van rests ngainst the side of 3 house, where it was pushed by floodwaters, and a garage is filled with debris. Rains
<br />that feU at up to z inches an h,our cl'cated floodingtbnt washed away parts of Colorado 67 between Deckers and ,Westcreek.
<br />
<br />"It's past my
<br />irnagination, let's put
<br />it in that contexe
<br />Gary Helle, of the Colorado De.
<br />,p~J1.rt1:~nl of Transpf?rtation, after
<br />. 'seeing devastation by Ho""e Creek
<br />
<br />going to be hard to lind a Dew
<br />car:- >
<br />U.S. 6 closed about 10 a.m. and
<br />reopened Saturday evening.
<br />D,espite the storm, which the
<br />National, Weather.. Service said
<br />dumpei:l almost 2 inches on Deck-
<br />ersm onchollf, no deaths or' inju..
<br />ries were reported,
<br />Douglas County Sheriff's Of-
<br />fice spokesman Ron Hannvan
<br />said the hills around Horse
<br />Creek were'spotted with burned
<br />
<br />pine trees from the Hayman fire.
<br />He said that because there were
<br />no live rootS to hold the raln. (be
<br />water rushed downhill. He add...
<br />ed that Ibe ground was already
<br />s;lturated from days of fain.
<br />During the storm, 86 homes re-
<br />ceived reversc-9u caUs warning
<br />people to get to higber ground,
<br />and deputies went from home to
<br />home to warD residents as- well.
<br />Gary HeUer, maintcn~cc su>>
<br />pervisor for the Colorado De-
<br />partment of Transportation,
<br />viewed the devastation 'and said
<br />Horse Creek obliterated Cola-
<br />rado 67' The expense of reeon.
<br />struction is going to be consider>>
<br />able, he said.
<br />"It's past my imagination,lct's
<br />put it in that context," Heller
<br />
<br />said. "I've worked every one of
<br />those floods since lheHayman
<br />fire - that was actually my arc;]
<br />of responsil1ility - and this is
<br />worse by five times:'
<br />He said thcce were 15 spots in a
<br />4-mile stretch of Colorado 67 be-
<br />tween Deckers and Weslcreek
<br />where the water wa.~hed out one
<br />or both lanes.
<br />The road there is going to be
<br />closed indefinitely.
<br />l'And when I say washed out,
<br />there is anywbere fro.in a u,-to
<br />Is-foot drop from the edge of the
<br />pavement. down, to the rlv~r."
<br />Heller said. "There are waSh>>
<br />outs. drainage structure pl~gs,
<br />the s.boulders have been de-
<br />stroyed and mat'criaJ car~ied
<br />down the highway,"
<br />
<br />The rain caused dead and live
<br />trees to be pulled down tbe hill-
<br />sides along with "tons of mud"
<br />and large boulders. He said
<br />many private bridges, which
<br />"",.sed the creek from the high-
<br />way to privatchomesonthcolh~
<br />cr side. were washed away.
<br />":1t is golngtotakc Some major
<br />reconstruction to fk.x thi.s:'
<br />Heller said.
<br />The forecast calls for more
<br />rain today, but conditions are ex-
<br />pected to dry out by mid-week.
<br />
<br />Staff writer Brandon Lowrey
<br />contributed to this report.
<br />
<br />Staffwrlter Howard Pankratz
<br />con be reached at 303-820-1939
<br />or Itpankratz@denverpostcom.
<br />
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