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::I.":kl;,NootrI~n-~-':'jrr;~;';t'I9!f~.~ THE ESTES PARK FLOOD --.._..:.._-------+----~~--_..._----- -.----.. ---.-- ,.-- -- ;;.......... "f-'!..,'", 1:1.".',"1 ;ll1'.J;~ tln- -~ Resort .motels west :of Estes-bore'~ By JOliN ASHTON ""'...Sulr Tile devaslatinj brunt of the Estes Park flood was borne by the popu OIr string 01 resort motels thOlt Une U,S. 34 - 10'0111 River Road - lo the west of town. Shortly after 8 a.m., according t.o residents and,visitors in those motels, a huge rush of water eame roaring down the Fall River; carrying tORII of debris - uprooted trees, .pOlrts 01 buildings, bridge railings, can, trucks and even mobile homes. The rampaging water, up to 100 yards acros.s at some points, and the debris wiped out portioRII of the highway, sweeping.cabins and motel umts off their fOWldOltiORII, swallowing big chunks of timber and earth. . All .along the soutb (and lower) side of tbe highway leading west to Rocky Mountain National Park, motel units were swamped witb thick mud and water. Some succumbed to the torrent and toppled Into the river. Visiton at those motels - cut qlf from the highway when the raging water washed out a series of at least six bridges _ were still stranded without food~ electricity or water by late Thursday afternoon. . Work crews with heavy macbinery labored along the er<>ded river baak, piling sand and gravel along it to save the road and working to rescue stranded motel visitors.' . Police roadblocks were set up at several points on the road, keeping gawkers and campers away 'rom the area. At the State Brood Fish Station, about two miles west of the main downtown business district, superintendent Doc Smith said. 17 of the hatchery's 10 ponds were- wiped out by the flood. . . "We lost about 100,000 fish altogethel."hesaid, "but the greenbacks (an almost extinct type of trout) were saved." At the Homestead Inn, just downstream from the batch- ery, owner Sharon Meusel said her cabins suffered an Invasion of thick mud but nQseriousstructuraldamage. l.ike most people along the highway (and In town), Meusel got several minutes of advance warning from bullhorn-equipped local police and sheriff's deputies, who traveled 'up .md down fhe rood announcing that the dam had brollen and the-flood was on il,s way. "We woke up, got the others (visitors) out, and headed up the hill," she said. "It was kind of scary to sit tbere and watcb, not knowing if your house was gomg t.o *et carried away. We got a'camper missmg somcwber~: she liaid. "We don't know wbere it is. It's probably down there in Nicky's kitchen." At Nicky's Motel, a little farther downstream, the main building that contained a restauralltand lobby was uproot- ed and shifted. The entire place was filled with thick, oozing mud. . . . "We were just trying t.o get people out 01 their rooms," said Nicky Kane Jr.,son of the owner, "and the next thing I knew Ihe river was coming down on us. And prelly soon my truck started going with it." Kane stood a few hundred feet dQwnstream of the motel and stared at hIS crumplcd, mud-('(hltcd, pickup trul'k. ..It.s totaled," he said. "But tbat's Ule way it goes." At the Ponderos.a Lodge, much of which is - or was - locatL>d on a bend of the Fall River, a main building was Main building. center, of Pohde.rosa Lodge west of Estes.Pork split in two. "iWS ""OlO.Y Jan.. ~o"n Offices, homes ineligible for state aiCl By JERRY BROWN Nc..SWI Estes Park business and oomeQwners whQ$(' property was damaged In Thursday's flood aren't eligible for any dlrcctfin.ancialaidfromtheslate. But they may qualify for low.interest loans Utrough the lederal Small Business Administration. , "The state Is oot the insurer 01 last resort and does oot cover private losses," said Gov. Richard Lamm, Inter- viewed Thursday while attending a Democralic NatiOllal Committee m~ling in Washington. _. . . Tbe Bi&. Thompson flood and other disasters have led people to expect more from the lltate and lederal govern- ments tha.n they'll actually get, Lamm said. Pat Byrne, director of the state's Division of Disaster I-:merg~llCy Services, said Colorado's Constitution.prohib- its use of slate funds to repair private property.. In the event of widespread damage, the president c"an declare a national disaster, making individual home and business owners wbo suffered property damage eligible for federal grants 01 up to $!:I,OOO each, Byrne said. . The situation in Estes Park doesn't appear serious enough.toquaUfy lor that, Byrne said.. - . But be said t::St." Park rroperty owners would qualify for loallll through the SIIllII Bu~iness Administration, i' at least 2~ businesses and homes suffered uninsured losses amounting to 40 percent of their fair market value. .Up to 100 businesses in the town's lIllIin C1lmmerdal area were reported damaged. A two-person SBA damage asses.smellt team was schoo.. uled to be in Estes Park Friday to determine if UterI" is enough uninsured damage to make the town's property owners eligible for such loans, Dyrnesaid. , The loans would come 'rom banks or other private financial institutions, with tbe SBA subsidizing part of the interest payments, Byrne said. . The state can help pay for emergt-ncy repairs to public facilities, including roads, sewer and water systems, and public buildings, Byrne said. In such cases, the state nornkllly matches local funds rather than pay the full cost of repairs, he said. And such a:l5istance is limited only to emergency reo- pairs to vital facilities, said Sue O'Brien, Lamm's press secretary. The state wlll pay Ute full cost for dalll4lge t.o U.S. Highways 34 and 36 betw~n Estes Park and the bound. arks of Rocky Mountain National Park, O'Brien said, because those roads are part of the state bighway system. However, an)' highway damage within the park will be the responsibihty of the federal government. she said. lIighway officials estimated ro.aJ damage at $30,000.