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THE LYONS RECORDER Lyons, Boulder County, Colorado Saturday, August 2, 1919 "THE HORST 25 YEARS LET'S BE FLoOD LYONS .~GO THIS FALL THANKFUL THAT HAS HAD SINCE I. SAYS .~N OLD r!O LIVES \'JERE 1894, TIMER. LOST. CLOUD BURST NEAR LYONS HEAVY LOSS The Worst Rain Storm that Has Ever Been Known Since Lyons Has Been a Town---Water 7wo Feet Deep Fifty Feet Wide Rushes Across Hain Street SIX INCHES OF l'lATER AND t1UD PLUNGE INTO BUSINESS HOUSES. The heaviest and ~ost destructive cloud burst and down poor of ....ater in the mCr.1ory of the oldest inhabitants visited Lyons on Wednesday a~tcrnoon from 2:30 to 3:45 o'clock. It took out all the bridges on the North St. vrain for about 5 miles up and 5 miles down stream--wooden, iron and cement, all suffered the same fate. The Longmont and Lyons water mains up the canon were torn out in many places, le~ving both towns without ~ater, which condition may exist for thirty days before the repairs can be made, owinq to shortage of workmen and the immense amount of work to be done. Not only was the bridges washed away closing the road to Estes Park, but miles of road was torn out along the narrow canon, and tons and tons of boulcers and heavy rock washed down from the mountain side obliterating the road completely. No one can tell at this time when it will be pos- ible to get the North canon in condition for travel. The people living on the low lands along the banks of the river were flooded out and many abandoned their homes and everything in the~ for higher ground and safety. Several of the stores on ~!ain Street "'ere flooded with water and mud two to four inches deep. This water did not come from the river but from the hill-side, lying north of town, from which a torrent of water flowed equal in volume to the ~orth St. Vrain ordinarily. It was no uncarr~on thing to see an automobile, bridge bar, chicken house, and other small buildings going down stream at a high rate of speed. About 2 o'clock N'ednesday afternoon there appeared in the heavens a black, very heavy cloud hanging over the North St. Vrain Canon and Stea:1bo<.!t rtountain northwest of our city. A few sharp flashes of lightening and rumblings of thunder and a gradual rain started at 2:15, by 2:)0 it was apparent that more than an ordinary rain was upon us. From that time until 3:45 the rain in to~~ was very heavy with some hail. The first inti~ation of real danger was announced when '~rs. T. ~l. Freeman of Steamboat Villa phoned in a warning and asicing for help, about this time the two heavy state bridges and two or three foot bridges came floating down toward the town bridge, res~mbling a monster raft. It did not deter its down course for a mom8nt when it struck the town bridge. which went along and increased the size of the drift. By this time the North side citiz8ns awoke to the dungcr of those in the lower part of town, and men and wam~n, s0aked with the rain that was still pouring down, thronged the bank of the river next to town, and gave all assistance possible to the residents on this side of the river who's homes were filling with water and their stock and chickens floating away. But it was impossible to give any a~sistance to tho!'le across the. river many of whose homes were in a roaring sea of water two and three feet deep, as all bridges s~de of th~ stream soon came to their assistance and no lives were lost, hut rfln" h,-,,!l', "riJ"lt('!ncd...