<br />12 rort Collins Coloradoan
<br />
<br />August 1976
<br />
<br />Sherif{ continues to direct cleanup work
<br />
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<br />The worst is over, when will it end?
<br />
<br />ByGARY CILLEN
<br />Of tlle Coloradoan
<br />
<br />The strain of the lll.8t three weeks
<br />is on his face. He has a tranqutllook
<br />in his eyes and he's tired, but he's
<br />far from beaten.
<br />The \l,1)rst is over for Larimer
<br />County Sheriff Robert C, Watson,
<br />yet he asks: "When v.illltend'?"
<br />Work continues In the Blg
<br />TIlompson Canyon where on July 31
<br />betwPen 9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. a
<br />flash flood swept between rock walls
<br />oostroylng all In Its path. Now the
<br />work is cleanup and body recovery.
<br />Two weeks ago it was saVing lives
<br />and property.
<br />Durtng the first week of the
<br />disaster, Watson directed l'i!scue
<br />operations from a command post in
<br />Lo\'eland, but now he can do most of
<br />his work from Fort Colllns. There is
<br />stlllalottodo.
<br />Patrolling the canyon, where the
<br />dt>partment has three substations, Is
<br />a main concern. Paying the bUls for
<br />the rescue work in the past three
<br />weeks is another concern.
<br />
<br />Sheriff Watson is also looklng back
<br />over three weekS and finding ways
<br />to better prepare his department for
<br />tutw'edlsa.sters.
<br />One of the things Watson would
<br />Ilke to do is Increase his reserve
<br />manpower. During the first wpek of
<br />the disaster there were over 250
<br />special deputies in the Big Thomp-
<br />son Canyon, he noted.
<br />
<br />The rescue effort was never short
<br />of volunteers, the sheriff noted, but
<br />there was no time to w~d through
<br />them to find the most dependable.
<br />That must be done before they are
<br />needed.
<br />Somt> program should be started
<br />to organize rescue groups also, he
<br />added. They must be ready to go on
<br />short notice.
<br />
<br />Watson had high praise for the
<br />groups that did help \l,1th" the rescue
<br />effort. The groups included the U.S.
<br />Army, Rocky Mountain Rescue, the
<br />Larimer County Search and Rescue,
<br />Empire Search and Rescue and
<br />JetfersoJl County Search and Rescue
<br />and many otht>rs.
<br />
<br />"'Illt>.8e kids did a really good job
<br />and had little thought for their own
<br />property that was used," he said.
<br />
<br />DURING 'IHE flrs~ {\\.'O days after
<br />the flood, about 1,000 peraons were
<br />evacuated from the canyon, Watson
<br />said.
<br />
<br />The sheriff also would like to have
<br />better commw1lcaUons available for
<br />future dlsa.sters of this size. He
<br />hopes to get some federal funding
<br />for additional radio equipment.
<br />
<br />The steep rock wa.Jls o. the canyon
<br />made commwllcation in and out of
<br />the disaster area very dltflcult. A
<br />relay station had to be set up on a
<br />mountain top to retransmit
<br />messages out of the canyon.
<br />Early in the disaster, ham .radlo
<br />operators assisted the sheriff in
<br />sending messages to Denver and
<br />other areas.
<br />
<br />Citizen band radios were more of a
<br />problem than a help in the disaster
<br />recovery effort, Watson said. The
<br />operators were not organized.
<br />In the future, the sheriff would like
<br />to organlu a smaU group to be
<br />responsible for coordinating citizen
<br />band communications.
<br />"We nl;'t'd a nucleus of responsible
<br />CB operators with the rest on
<br />standby. Without coordination, CBs
<br />are a plague In this situation," he
<br />added.
<br />'IHE DEPARTMENT also needs
<br />to build a more deffnlte chain of
<br />Command and establish a better
<br />system for passes, Watson sald.
<br />Experience has shown the sheriff
<br />command officers can be used
<br />better in the fleid than on road
<br />blocks.
<br />Also during last week, Sheriff
<br />Watson has had time to respond to a
<br />few critical questlorul regarding the
<br />department's actions before and
<br />attertheflood.
<br />Some canyon residents felt the
<br />department shoUld have done more
<br />to warn resIdents of the coming
<br />fl~~ unpredictable movements of
<br />the storm that caused the flood is the
<br />main reason the sheriff gives for the
<br />short warnlng. Also, many residents
<br />retu.~d to move even after being
<br />told of the coming waters.
<br />\
<br />"Il's useless to blame the weather
<br />service Of' anyone t'ise tor f1tJt
<br />predicting where the storm would
<br />drop rain. It's like having a tornado
<br />in the area and not knowing where It
<br />wUl touchdown," ht>sald.
<br />I
<br />Some deputies went through
<br />campgrounds warning persons up to
<br />three times. They refused to believe
<br />such a serious flood could happen.
<br />others walted too long to evacuate.
<br />Watson told of a man who waited
<br />unW the water reached the top of his
<br />clothesline before leaving home. He
<br />survived, but was lucky, the sheriff
<br />remarked.
<br />
<br />The strain is on his face,
<br />but Watson's far from beaten
<br />
<br />'IHE SPEED of body recovery Is
<br />another point where the department
<br />ls belng criticized. Some say a
<br />higher priority should be given to
<br />finding persons sUII m1sslng.
<br />Watson responds to this by saying
<br />that the sca.Je of devastation Is so
<br />great, that so much debris has been
<br />plJed up that It will take time to sltt
<br />through It.
<br />
<br />He told of a part of the river that
<br />appeare:l to be washed out to the
<br />base. But, after dlgglng a rew teet,
<br />rescuers fOWld an enUre automoblle
<br />buried undt>rneath.
<br />Bodles couJd be in many pieces, or
<br />they could be caught in very small
<br />places. It is doubtful that all the
<br />casualUes wUl ever be found, said
<br />theshertff.
<br />
<br />To get an Idea of the problem. one
<br />must see the disaster area, Watson
<br />said. Boulders several Urnes tht> size
<br />of an automobile were moved by the
<br />flood.
<br />Watson said road blocks wID be
<br />maintained at canyon entrances
<br />until a good road can bebu1lt. The
<br />present road Is passable only by
<br />four-wheel-drive vehicle.
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<br />The strain of the rescue operotion shows on face of Sherjff Robert Watson
<br />
<br />
<br />...
<br />
<br />Watson directs news briefing
<br />
<br />Many area policemen
<br />volunteered time
<br />
<br />During the recent flood in the Big
<br />Thompson River Canyon, respon-
<br />sible volunteers were always in
<br />demand. Many of them came from
<br />law enforcement agencies like the
<br />Colorado State Patrol, CSU police
<br />and Fort CoJJlns pollee.
<br />Lt. Marvin E. Schlageter of the
<br />Colorado State Patrol headquarters
<br />here estimates that about 40
<br />patrolmen were used during the
<br />disaster.
<br />TheIr duties included traffic
<br />control. towing vehicles and road
<br />blocks. The patrol w1lI continue to
<br />Identify vehicles found In the canyon
<br />for weeks to come, Schlageter said.
<br />The patrol also provided \1tal
<br />communications equipment for use
<br />during the disaster recovery effort.
<br />Schlageter also established a road
<br />block at Poodre Canyon on July 31.
<br />
<br />Fort Collins pollee sent nine men
<br />to the disaster site to help the
<br />recovery effort, noted Chief Ralph
<br />M. Smith. Other polJcemen volun-
<br />teered many hours of their time.
<br />According to pollee estimates, a
<br />total of 168 hours were spent by Fort
<br />CbI1ins officers in the canyon.
<br />City pollee also helped the
<br />sheriff's department cover the rest
<br />of the county by answering calls
<br />neartheclty.
<br />CSU pollee contributed about 10
<br />persons to the disaster operation and
<br />spent some 136 hours, according to
<br />estimates by ChJer M. Wayne
<br />Teegarden.
<br />The oftlcers helped with road
<br />blocks, security and conunand post
<br />operation.
<br />
<br />Deputies remember feeling helpless
<br />
<br />
<br />The father went bock;
<br />he never returned
<br />
<br />What they remember most about
<br />that ink-black night In the Big
<br />Thompson River Canyon on July '31
<br />Is a feellngof helplessness.
<br />
<br />As they stood on the edge of the
<br />flooding rtver that night, deputies
<br />from the LarImer County Sheriffs
<br />Department could see people, both
<br />aUve and dead, being swept away.
<br />The swift current and fast.moving
<br />debris made rescue Impossible.
<br />
<br />Capt. Terry Urlsta lives near the
<br />canyon mouth and was among the
<br />first to give warning of the comlng
<br />flood. Later Urista and Deputy
<br />James J. Garcia would be trapped
<br />by the rising water.
<br />
<br />It wasn't even rainlng at the
<br />Urista home when the call came at
<br />about 9 p.m. He told his wife he
<br />expected to be back home in about
<br />half an hour.
<br />
<br />The captain. who had been with
<br />the department six of his 28 years,
<br />started up the canyon warnIng all he
<br />saw to evacuate. Watching the
<br />river, Urtsta recalls it was high but
<br />didn't look dangerous. But, when he
<br />rounded a bend near the narrows,
<br />Ur!sta saw something shockin,ll:.
<br />U.S. 34 had been destroyed by the
<br />rtver. The water was getting high
<br />and more violent by the second.
<br />"I usually don't get excited over
<br />anythIng, but when I saw that high-
<br />way oot I yelled a message over the
<br />radio to get everyone out of the
<br />canyon fast," Urista rembers.
<br />
<br />By this Ume the rain was falling 80
<br />hard that driving was almost im-
<br />possible. Urista started back down.
<br />Garcia was on regular patrol the
<br />night of the flood. He began warning
<br />people shortly after 9 p.m., and
<br />pulled a woman from the muddy
<br />water,
<br />
<br />The two men met at Cedar Cove
<br />during the height of the flood. Garcia
<br />went back Into the water after
<br />hearing of a child trapped in a
<br />stranded auto, but after inchIng
<br />along a lifeline for yards he found
<br />the car empty. Urista would not let
<br />him go back into the water any more
<br />that night.
<br />'The deputies saw people trapped
<br />in the middle of the rI~r as they
<br />were driving down the canyon
<br />,sounding the warning. Monday
<br />mornIng most of them were gone.
<br />Uristarecalls.
<br />
<br />All that night Urlsta and Garcia
<br />watched the river with. their car
<br />lights. 'The hours seemed to run
<br />together as reports came over their
<br />radio and bodies floated down river.
<br />
<br />Propane tanks from houses and
<br />trailers whistled and gurgled as they
<br />went by; trees cracked like rttle
<br />shots all through the night.
<br />
<br />CAPT. JOHN-Englebert spent that
<br />night in the canyon too. He and
<br />Sheriff Robert Watson had set up a
<br />command post at the Merry Ax.
<br />
<br />It was total chaos that night, the
<br />captain said. The radio channels
<br />wert'! jammed, the ram was pouring
<br />down in sheets, the river was over
<br />the highway and people were
<br />trapped .
<br />
<br />Englebert got on his radio and
<br />ordered U.S. 34 blocked at both ends
<br />of the canyon, he ordered a
<br />helicopter and shouted other orders
<br />ashe stood in the downpour.
<br />
<br />A report came over the air that a
<br />car was floating down the Mver
<br />toward the command post.
<br />
<br />"It had its l1ghtson and I could see
<br />people inside; it zoomed by us and
<br />was never heard from again; there
<br />~~~ we could d,o," Englebert
<br />
<br />
<br />Deputy Morgan Porler recalls an
<br />incident that occurred near the
<br />F1resJde Motel where a famIly of
<br />five was living,
<br />The tamlly left Its home when
<br />the waters were threatening; but the
<br />father went back to release some
<br />pigs in a shed. He never returned.
<br />Porter said he had to restrain the
<br />mother who appeared to be trying to
<br />enter the water to get her husband.
<br />Porter and about 20 other persons
<br />spent the night by the river.
<br />Deputy Byron Wicks is credited
<br />with rescuing an elderly couple and
<br />a young boy In Poudre Canyon
<br />durtngthe flooding thereon JulySl.
<br />He used his mountain climbing
<br />training to rig a line across the rtver
<br />and carry out a retired couple and a
<br />12-year-oldboy.
<br />"The quality and dedication of our
<br />people and thetr ability to continue
<br />functioning Is remarkable. Nobody
<br />complained and everyone pulled
<br />together," Urista commented.
<br />"There's a lot of esprit de corps 10
<br />the department these days."
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