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<br />The Denver Post Sunday. July 1 B. 1982
<br />
<br />dims.alame Negligence, Not 'Act of God'
<br />
<br />:LOOO From 1-0
<br />
<br />lis . merchandISe was stored in his
<br />.asement, which was under water.
<br />If it had been a natural disaster,
<br />Ie would simply expect to make
<br />he best of it, Frenzel said.
<br />But not in this case. "This is
<br />'egligence on somebody's part,"
<br />Ie said. "I think the governmerit is
<br />iable in some way."
<br />"State records show that the 79-
<br />>ear-old Lawn Lake Dam had been
<br />nspected only four times in the
<br />ast 31 years, and not at all since
<br />978. In that last inspection four
<br />'ears ago, problems were detect-
<br />.:I, though they were not judged to
<br />Ie serious enough to classify the
<br />lam as "high risk" in the amount
<br />If damage expected in case of fail-
<br />Ire. Instead, it was judged to be
<br />'medium risk;": said : .Monte
<br />'ascoe, state natural resources di,
<br />'ector. . .
<br />State law requires an inspection
<br />,very' year, but officials contend
<br />hey can't afford to hire enough in-
<br />:pectors to.do that for Colorado's
<br />!,249 dams. .
<br />There' was' little warning Thurs-
<br />lay. when the water crashed
<br />hrough and over - Lawn Lake
<br />)amn near, 'Mummy' Mountain,
<br />ushed down' the Roaring River
<br />nto the Fall River and swept.
<br />hrough downtown Estes Park.
<br />Gerald "Jerry" Swank, propri-
<br />,tor of Swank Photography, on the
<br />lorth side of Main Street near the
<br />'pper end and president of t)le
<br />;;stes Area Retail Merchants Asso-
<br />>iation, said his business was de.
<br />
<br />molished - $30,000 to $40,000 worth
<br />of equipment and inventory lost
<br />and $20,000 or more in his condomi-
<br />nium store unit.
<br />Like most of his fellow business-
<br />man, Swank'doesn't believe his in-
<br />, surance covers this damage, but he
<br />and the others don't plan to take .
<br />the Fall River'assault lying down.
<br />Swank said following the Big
<br />Thompson flood in the summer of
<br />1976 when at least 139 persons lost
<br />their lives, the Estes Park business
<br />community was told by the govern-
<br />ment' that their area wasn't in a
<br />. flood plain, ,and therefore wasn't.
<br />entitled' to flood insurance auto-
<br />matically..
<br />He said the merchants. associa.
<br />tion is considering filing suit to try
<br />to prove that last week's destruc.
<br />tion was not a flood in the legal
<br />sense but was caused by negli-
<br />gence.
<br />Meanwhile, Swank said the.
<br />group is trying to make Estes Park
<br />known as "the gutsiest little town
<br />in the West" because of its quick;
<br />independent community response
<br />to the massive layer of mud and
<br />debris left in the flood's wake.
<br />. One of the angriest protestors is
<br />. Nick Kane, owner 'of the heavily
<br />damaged Nicky's Hi'C's Motel and.
<br />,.Restaurant-along Fall River. The
<br />motel was only partly covered by
<br />flood insurance.
<br />Kane, who estimated his proper- '
<br />ty damage to be at least $2 million,
<br />said "This is no act of God. This
<br />was' negligence on the part of the
<br />'state." lie cited Colorado's respon-
<br />sibility for inspecting dams and
<br />also. blamed the. Loveland irri!;a-
<br />
<br />, tion' . company that operated the
<br />dam.
<br />"The main thing the world
<br />should know is that Estes Park is
<br />the greatest community in' the
<br />world because of the' people that
<br />live here," said leather' goods mer-
<br />chandiser Jerry Brownfield.
<br />Brownfield, proprietor of Brown-
<br />field's Leather Shop at the lower
<br />end' of Mam Street for the last 27
<br />years, cited his volunteer crew of
<br />young meri who had pitched in to
<br />remove mud left by about three
<br />feet of water that swirled through
<br />his store. .
<br />Charlotte Miller, who has been
<br />catering to tourists for 45 years,
<br />vowed' Friday that the Indian Vil-
<br />lage gift store she has operated for
<br />30 years near the upper end of
<br />Main Street will reopen today.
<br />lIeading a work party made up
<br />of her eight employees and includ-
<br />ing granddaughter Lisa Rosenblum
<br />of Steubenville, Ohio, Mrs. Miller
<br />worked as hard at cleaning up the
<br />mess in her thriving store as she
<br />nornally does selling a variety of
<br />merchandise during the six months
<br />she is open.
<br />The operator of what she called
<br />"the best little old. gift shop in
<br />town" said "it's about as bad as it
<br />could be, I don't see how it could
<br />be any worse," when asked about
<br />the status of her small Emporium
<br />shop on Main Street. Owner Laura
<br />Jimenez and her children were out
<br />front hosing mud off basketry.
<br />She complained that she had
<br />paid for insurance for years and
<br />now that she needs It, the lnSur.
<br />ance won't cover her because the'
<br />
<br />cause was flooding: However, she
<br />said, "I'll. be open here probably in
<br />two weeks. I'll be here 'til the bank
<br />or IRS runs me off."
<br />
<br />have.a gigantic flood sale. We're
<br />just going 10 start over," he said.
<br />On a somber note, Vivian Beck-
<br />er, a local real estate br{)ker, silld
<br />the real estate market had just re-
<br />. covered from the scare" that fol-
<br />lowed the Big' Thompson flood.
<br />"It's been tough" already because
<br />of the economy and high' interest
<br />rates, Mrs. Becker said, and now
<br />"I feel overall, it's going to be very
<br />damaging:: .
<br />
<br />"I've already lost $40,000 if I've
<br />lost a dime," said Paul Lynott of
<br />Audrey's Gift World that he and his
<br />wife have operated for six months.
<br />He said an entire cabinet of pen-
<br />dants worth $2.000 had been
<br />washed away. '''We're going to
<br />
<br />Firemep. Help, a Bud~y
<br />
<br />FIREMEN From 1-0" He said tl1e lodge is still basical.
<br />ly sound and the big trees are still
<br />some folks up, ': Rond!"eUi said. , there. Recalling they had worked
<br />. Armed mainly with shovels, the ' him! to build the little business and
<br />hip-booted firefighters, including had built a waterfall along the riv.
<br />Stephanie Race, the only woman er, Cripe said, "It's just one of
<br />firefighter in the department, those things. We'll get back." Cripe
<br />spent most of the day wading works one day at the fire' depart.
<br />around and moving tons of mud ment and is off two days, which
<br />and debris from the first floor of makes commuting to Estes Park
<br />the Cripes'lodge. . possible.
<br />
<br />. The two rental units on the first "I'll be honest with you, we've'
<br />been bere five years and I didn't
<br />floor and the living unit occupied even know there was a dam,"
<br />by the Cripes were severely dam- Cripe said. He said a 15-foot wall of
<br />aged liy the river that, became a water came roaring' down the
<br />mfonsleth' r bnLeflY ThLakursdaDy morning streambed after the dam burst.
<br />a ter e awn e am gave . .
<br />way about 15 miles upsyeam. Neil Rosenberger, a firefighter
<br />. on duty Friday nlght in Westmin.
<br />Cripe whose 5-year-old business ster, estimated that two-thirds of
<br />was badly hurl by the flood that the members of. the department
<br />will keep him out of the lodging are. taking part m the 4-Seas9ns
<br />business for awhile looked on the proJect. He saId another platoon of
<br />bright side while the cleanup was oU-duty firemen would help the
<br />under way. -- Cnpes Saturday. ,
<br />
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