FLOOD08768 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Motorists travelling on Ute Pass are having difficulty keeping control of their vehicles during the steady downpour. One car is washed off the highway. By 5:00 pm, the thunderstorm has intensified and shows no sign of moving out of the area. The town of Cascade reports three inches of rain in the last half-hour. Flooding is beginning to occur on the east side of Mani tou Springs. At 5:25 p.m., the National Weather Service sends out a flash flood l~arning: "The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning effective until 10:00 p.m. for persons in Teller, El Paso, and Freemont Counties in Colorado. Heavy rain was indicated by radar to be moving into these counties at 5:10 p.m. Woodland Park in Teller County reported two inches in thirty minutes." The police department sends two patrol cars out to warn people to the south of Fountain Creek of the threatening flood. No officers are sent to the opposite side of the creek because of the life threatening situation that prevails (H. Greenman, 1985), The sky over Manitou Springs has become incredibly black, interrupted (mly by sudden flashes of lightening. The intense rainfall is causing numerous rock and mud slides along the canyon walls and highway, trapping those people trying to escape by car. Flooding has already cut off the upper junction of Highway 24 and Manitou Avenue. Several cars are floating along the roads in low-lying areas. Many residents and business owners, however, discount the warning, feeling secure wi thin their own walls, and instill thi s false sense of securi ty to their guests and customers. One resident of the Fountain Creek Adult Apartments--which borders the north bank of Fountain Creek--seems unconcerned: "I've 1 i ved in thi s apartment for four years and have never seen that water rise more than two feet. It's (the creek) not a threat to my property." By 5:45 p.m., all residents of the Fountain Creek Apartments must be evacuated to the Manitou SprIngs High School. The first crashing wave of flood water hi t Mani tou Springs at the upper reach of Ruxton Creek. Because the channel is lined with concrete in its upper stretch, its flow is restricted and its velocity is in cre ased . The portion of the channel that flows beneath the Iron Springs Chateau Melodrama is unable to retain the flow, sending a six foot surge of water through the main dining roomo "We could hear the rushing water but were advised to not drive out. All of a sudden the wall gave way and the river went right through the dining room: people and tables were thrown into a heap on the other side: There was nothing >Ie could do to help them." -34-