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The majority of the owners and managers of motels and other facilities in the first 4 miles downstream from Cascade Dam were interviewed on July 19 and 20 by the authors. Information on flood wave travel time, warnings received, and response to those warnings was obtained. Table 2 summarizes the warnings received in this portion of the flooded area as reported by the interviewees. Residents of downtown Estes Park became aware of the dam failure by official notification from law enforcement officials, radio, from friends and neighbors either in person or by telephone, or by observing unusual activity by neighbors. Throughout the flooded area the telephones remained operative until the flooding actually began. Informal interviews with people in downtown Estes Park on July 15, a few hours after the flood crest passed, indicated that most people received alerts between 10 minutes to 1 hour before the water reached downtown Estes Park. 3. Response to the warnings. - Prompt and appropriate response to the warnings helped reduce the number of injuries and fatalities. Most individuals quickly evacuated the area. However, some ran toward the river as the floodwaters approached to take photographs, retreating as the flooding became more severe [21] and a few refused to leave when warned, "We were standing in the street, yell ing at the dunmies to get out of there," a Larimer County Sheriff said, "They saw the cars floating toward them and then they dec i ded to move" [27]. Evaluation of Warning Process Early detection of the dam failure, coupled with alerts, warnings, and evacuation orders issued by local law enforcement officials and carried over Estes Park's only radin station, possibly saved hundreds of lives. Little time was available to reduce losses to tangible property. The action of the police, firemen, and deputies in sounding the warnings in time to prevent loss of 1 i ves was described as "superb" by one sheriff [11]. A Denver newspaper carried a lead article the day following the flood titled, "Early Warnings Helped Save Lives" [6]. The people who were actually affected by the flooding and who individually lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the flood had the following to say about the warning when interviewed by one or both authors on July 19 and 20: "The evacuation was real good," "(The officials) did a marvelous job of warning people," "We were fortunate to receive as much warning as we did," "We had excellent warning," and "The officials did an excellent job in warning people considering the time they had." The only criticism of the warning among those interviewed outside the park came from the owner of a motel and restaurant, which reportedly suffered more than $1 million in damages. The owner said he received no official warning but was called by a friend before the flooding began at his motel. Criticism of the flood warning was expressed in a newspaper article carried 5 days after the flood titled, "Flood Warning Said Too Gentle" [7]. The article was based upon telephone interviews with two of the sixteen people who had been camped at the walk-in campsite area within Aspenglen Campground [23, 32]. The newspaper reported that warnings issued by a ranger as he 5 '--'!