FLOOD07982

• County: Larimer
• Stream Name: Big Thompson
• Basin: South Platte
• Title: The Big Thompson Flood
• Date: 7/31/1976
• Prepared For: Larimer County
• Prepared By: C.F. Boone Publisher
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Flood Documentation Report

......F/ood Briefs......

Pleasant Weekend
Turned To Nightmare

(The following story by Sara Polson ap-
peared in the Loveland Daily Reporter-
Herald, Tuesday, August 3,1976.)

"I was never so glad in my life to get
some place," said Leonard Hadenfeldt
of his escape from the Big Thompson
Canyon.
Hadenfeldt, a Reporter-Herald em-
ploye, and his wife Dorothy left this
weekend as they do most every
weekend for their cabin six miles east of
Estes Park for some relaxation. Their
pleasant weekend turned into a
nightmare Saturday night when torren-
tial rains made the Big Thompson River
swell during the night, almost reaching
their cabin.
"We had no warning from anyone
that there would be flooding, our only
indication was the vast amount of rain_
We stood by the window most of the
night watching the river by flashlight as
the lights went out about 7:30.
"Thank goodness we had a strong
flashlight. We could see the river had
covered the entire road about 10 p.m.
By 1 a.m., it had gone back down."
A family of four drove into the Haden-
feldt's drive when the rain began and
asked if they could stay until it subsided.
When the electricity went out and the
river came up, they came inside and
spent the night.
"We watched three trailers pass by
during the night, butI'm sure I didn't see
them all. J don't know how many were
swept down the river. The manager of
the Seven Pines, Mr. Barnes, watched a
trailer with a family of four still in it that
had been parked near their cabins float
down the river. He also held onto a
young girl until the water came up so
hight and so strong that he just couldn't
hold onto her anymore."
Hadenfeldt said the river made a
deafening roar all night and there were
strange high whistling sounds
occasionaly which they later discov-
ered were propane tanks smashing
against rocks and being lifted into the air
in great plumes of water.

42

"I wasn't really frightened because I
knew if the water reached our cabin we
would just climb to higher ground. So
we kept a constant watch when it was
high," said Hadenfeldt.
Fifty to sixty people were trapped on
the bank by their cabin including a
sheriffs deputy and a patrolman. The
next morning some were airlifted out
and others began a trek over what was
left of the road toward Estes Park. A
helicopter picked up Hadenfeldt and his
wife and others, who were among those
walking toward Estes, and airlifted them
to a depot stop near Drake where they
were then picked up by a big chopper
and brought to the landing strip in
Loveland.
"We called Francis Seiler when we
got to Loveland and he took us home."

A Canyon Survivor's
Story

(The following story appeared in the Estes
Park Trail-Gazette, Wednesday, August 4,
1976.)

"The water came roaring down and
kept moving back and forth."
"Cars and trailers looked like toys in a
bathtub."
So said Mrs. Jack Robbins, a Big
Thompson Canyon resident of close to
50 years, who with many other
survivors of Saturday night's flood,
hiked to the safety of Estes early
Sunday.
The owner of the Castle Rock Camp-
ground, located about eight miles down
the canyon from Estes Park, Mrs.
Robbins said she received no warning of
the imminent flood.
Fortunately there were only five
campers at her site Saturday night.
Mrs. Robbins related that the
campers were eating dinner in their
Winnebago when the camper began to
shake.
Upon opening the door, they stepped
into water up to their chests, she said.
"( got them started up the path (the

path to the top of Rapids Hill, the high-
est point in the Canyon), and I went
around to shut my front door," she
explained.
But before she could get back around
to the path, Mrs. Robbins found herself
in water up to her head. "Jgrabbed on to
a TV aerial that was stuck in the ground,
and the buoyancy of the water lifted me
onto the roof of my house," she said.
She remained there roughly four
hours holding onas the water smashed
against the house.
Water was pouring off the mountain
which is directly behind her home.
Eventually Mrs. Robbins was able to
go up the mountain by following a tele-
phone line and joined the others, a
group of what she guessed to be about
50 persons including Lt. Leo Baker of
the Larimer County Sheriff's
Department, and a state patrolman.
Fortunately for the group there was a
Cheley bus at the top as well as a family
with a completely stocked camper,
which provided food and shelter.
"We were so lucky," Mrs. Robbins
kept stressing.
"Everybody helped everybody else
and nobody complained about
anything.
"The young people were wonderful/'
she added, noting they entertained
themselves by playing cards and
frisbee.
And as the survivors discussed their
plight and what they were going to do,
no one was permitted to say the word
"if."
"Anyone who said 'if' was penalized,"
Mrs. Robbins said.
Another point she emphasized was
the terrific morale provided by Lt.
Baker and all the other officials.
"They had communication so at least
we were able to hear what was
happening."
"We were all so thankful, but will
never be able to express our gratitude
to those people in person," she said.
Mrs. Robbins said her home, which
was built before the turn of the century,
is still standing, but is a Ureal mess"-
filled with four inches of sand and mud.

j
-'