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......

She estimates the water level reached
eight to ten feet inside.
"I don't know if or when I'll ever get
down there again," she said, adding that
all her furniture is strewn throughout
the house, and cabinets are completely
overturned.
"But I'm not complaining about that,"
she said with spunk. "I'm just thankful
for everything."

Helicopters Airlift
Survivors From Stricken
Canyon

(The following story by Springfield Lewis ap~
peared in the Loveland Daily Reporter-
Herald on Tuesday, August 3, 1976.)

Homeowners along the flood.
ravaged Big Thompson River salvaged
some of their belongings Monday after-
noon as rescuers continued evacuating
persons still trapped in the water-
choked canyon and collecting the
bodies of the dead.
Never-ceasing drizzle and tog
grounded air rescue attempts until 4:30
p.m. when the low-hanging cloud cover
lifted, permitting two twin-prop
National Guard Chinooks and two
smaller Army helicopters to fly into the
mouth of the narrow canyon.
About 50 persons were airlifted from
a glass-slick knoll near where the town
of Glen Haven had been, according to
Capt. Carl Freeman, a Green Beret
pathfinder from Ft. Bragg, N.C.
Freeman was on leave in Denver and
had volunteered to help in the rescue.
Describing the "fairly dangerous" trip
as being "like flying down a tunnel," the
33-year-old captain said the blades of
the Chinooks were only 25 to 50 feet
from the canyon walls. The cloud ceiling
was about 600 feet, so the helicopters
flew 400 feet above the coffee-colored
river. Freeman said visibility was good
for a mile.
After 15 minutes of maneuvering, the
helicopters reached the knoll about
eight miles up the canyon.

44

"The people, generally, were in good
physical condition. They were fairly dry,
as though they had spent the night in
some shelter," Freeman said.
The survivors did not say much, but
"when they got on the helicopter and
bundled up, they were smiling and
waving at me," he said. Persons had
been directed to the knoll by members
of the National Guard and a Larimer
County sheriff's officer.
A civilian helicopter pilot had flown
into the "remoter areas" to rescue
stranded flood victims, according to
Freeman. Other small helicopter pilots
had flown reconnaissance for the
ground crews and larger aircraft.
"No one else appears to be out of
shelters that we need to get tonight,"
Freeman said about 6 p.m. Normally,
the choppers stop flying around 7 p.m.,
according to Joe Tysdal, Larimer
County deputy sheriff.
T ysdal estimated at 3 p.m. that there
were about 500 persons still trapped in
the canyon. Rain was predicted until
this afternoon, he said, but there was
not any danger of persons dying of
exposure. Rations and sleeping bags
had been air-dropped.
As of 6:45 a.m. today, 62 bodies had
been recovered, according to a sheriff's
spokesman. T ysdal estimated at least
100 persons will be found dead.
Freeman said he saw "at least a
dozen bodies" along the backwashes as
the helicopter he was riding in flew into
the canyon.
Between 200 and 250 persons were in
the canyon this morning, according to a
Larimer County sheriffs spokesman.
Freeman said late Monday the
choppers would be in the air "at first
light," - weather permitting.
"There are lots of houses - God only
knows why - that made it," Freeman
observed after the trip. Surprisingly,
"there is some (car) traffic along parts of
the road (U.S. 34) that is still good," the
Green Beret pathfinder said.
Besides dealing with the treachery of
the water and the canyon, Freeman had
to contend with a German Shepherd
that bit him in his left forearm during a
rescue attempt. The dog was among

seven that were brought out, along with
the people. The animal's bite did not
break the skin, Freeman said
thankfully.
The first Chinook arrived with the
survivors shortly before 5: 15 p.m. and
the second twin-prop aircraft landed a
few minutes later at a heliport estab-
lished about two miles west of Loveland
along U.S. 34. Another heliport for
smaller aircraft was set up about a
quarter of a mile up the road.
While helicopters ferried persons to
safety, homeowners in the devastated
area cleared out and cleaned up their
belongings, fearing that the still swollen
river might lash out again and claim
more lives and property.

The Big Thompson River and Highway
34, before and after the flood of July 31,
1976. The rugged natural beauty
remained even after the deluge that
took more than one hundred lives, but it
will take months of work and millions
of dollars to restore the canyon and
highway to their former condition.

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