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Estes Park Trail- Gazette: July 21, 2006 -Page 3c Clrculatlon~ 5,161 Rernernbering the Bi,g Thornpson 2 ., 30th anniversary of biggest di$aster in Colorado history By Janice Mason with Information submitted by JJ Rutherford, curator of education, Estes Park Museum, and portions from stories published In 1976 Issues of the Estes Park Trall- Gazette. . On July 31, 1976, tOrrential rains poured gathering momen- tum in gullies and ravines in , Estes Park and at the mouth of the Big Thompson cklnyol1. Witb-' out warning, the storm raged on until a tidal wave swept forcefully down the canyon, By Aug. 4, 1976, 90 people were confirmed dead with hundreds missing in the worst disaster recorded in Colorado, During the following months, searchers recov- ered 139 bodies with another five still missing. The highway to Estes Park from Loveland, U.S. 34, was completed in September 1937 marking the beginning ofrapid population growth in the Big Thompson Canyon. The highway opened the grandeur of the canyon to millions and greatly expanded tourism in Estes Park. Using this modem gateway to the Rockies, gas sta- tions, cider stands, restaurants, homes and shops began to appear along the canyon road. By 1976, the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park was over. flowing with visitors. An estimat- ed 2,500 visitors were in the canyon on the evening of July 31, 1976. Most comfortaQly settled in their motels. As the flood approached, state and local police were able to warn the majority of visitprs. However, human nature being what it is. many failed to heed these warnings. "Some people were reluctant to move - we couldn't excite them enough," said Sheriff Robert Wat- son in the Aug. 4, 1976 Trail. Gazette. At the Covered Wagon Restau- rant, for example, nine patrons and employees heard the warning broadcl1lltcd by the Colorado State , Tum to page 4., +rl""~:" LUr--...-_....... ~._._-_.........__....._---~-~~.......-..",.~,-1... f<' "'~~\'1'l . a