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<br /> <br />Case History <br /> <br />On July 24, 1977, an intense rainstorm drenched Glenwood <br />Springs and tha steep slopes above the town. It generated <br />debris flows that caused a reported $2 mill ion in damage In <br />the southern part of the city. ~emarkably. there were no <br />reported injuries as tons of red rock and other material, <br />loosened by the rainfall, swept down the scenic mountainside <br />Into homes and other buildings, severely damaging them. The <br />financial loss, much of It borne by city and Garfield County <br />taxpayers, could have been averted with proper development <br />planning on a known debris fan and its periphery. <br /> <br /> <br />Th i 5 house was located on a debr i 5 tan of a sma II tr i butary <br />to the 81 9 Thompson R.i ver. The house was not damaged by <br />mainstream flooding on the Big Thompson. but by the debris <br />f I ow from the sma I I rav I ne beh I nd the house. <br /> <br />18 <br /> <br />Case History <br /> <br />Debris flows were a significant factor In the July 31-August <br />1. 1976, natural disaster In the 81g Thompson ~Iver Can.yon <br />that claimed 135 lives and caused an estimated $50 million In <br />property damage. desldes the flash flood Itself, heavy <br />debris flows were initiated In the side canyons and ravines <br />of the main stream by the rains. In several Instances <br />property up away from the mainstream torrent was not damaged <br />unt I I the debr I s flows swept across the I r hi stor Ie debr I s <br />fans, destroying most structures. These separate geologic <br />phenomena combined to constitute one of the most devastating <br />nights In Colorado history. (See the Mountain Torrents <br />chapter. ) <br /> <br /> <br />Deposits on a debris fan on Sweetwater Creek In Eagle County <br />occurred ten days after the Big Thompson flood In 1976. <br />