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<br />ig Thompson Canyon bounces bac
<br />
<br />
<br />AKE - Anyone along the Big Thompson River the
<br />Of July 31, 1976, will forever remeqlber the flood,
<br />, eople watched their loved ones die in front of them, and
<br />,', homes and bl1$inesses were swept away," said Sylvia
<br />)iglan, who, with her husband and family, was in the
<br />yon the night of the flood.
<br />JJriless you were one of us here that night. you can't
<br />.~tsta.nd what it WaS like. ,.. Each time somebody asks
<br />, t the flood, it becomes more ,difficult to deill with."
<br />e torrential. lethal rain that fell in the high country
<br />een Este>; Park and Drake that summer night propelled
<br />, sh flood for 20 miles down the canyon, leaving in its
<br />~the worst disaster instate history. The river became a
<br />""ling. scouring blade of water that claimed 139 people,
<br />':,~ged propert,y worth more than $35 million and changed
<br />:rtlesummer night into the pivotal event in thousands of
<br />
<br />::':g!(iThe'ones of us that went through it don't heed to be
<br />fii~inded of it," said Minna Stille. She and, her husband,
<br />i'l1iliilie". have lived in the canyon since 1960. "It's with us
<br />';W:~llwe let ourselves think about it." , , ' ,
<br />>:<1;;',:- ',: _ .'"
<br />f:~~1?nt~el0th anniversary of the flood, "the area is not like
<br />'.!:,.!j,~.Yi~.sb.,efore, but it.'S starting to grow bac.k," said, HOW, ard
<br />f~~ter;'presitlent of the Big Thompson Canyon Association.
<br />;"f~identsgroup. "We know some of the homes are miSSing.
<br />;'<\~WsolIle of the businesses are missing. But people who '
<br />cSQlpe,i1p, bere for the first time don't realize they're miss.-
<br />:i~:".';'" '
<br />
<br />,;!'Iy.best estimates. as many as 3.000 residents, vacationers
<br />altQ{weekellders were in the canyon the Saturday of the
<br />J(~~(L ',Ii'or, 'many. the weekend was to stretch into Monday ,
<br />fora ",elebration of the 100th anniverary of Colorado state-
<br />hood,' ,
<br />
<br />/ ,Long' a popular mountain retreat, the canyon winds its
<br />)~aydownfromEstes,Park for 20 miles to the Narrows, a
<br />fU,imel of nearly perpendicular rock walls 10 miles west of
<br />L()vel,and and 60 miles northwest of the Denver area. The
<br />Big 'Thompson River courses beside U.s, 34 through the
<br />
<br />canyon and flows on east to join the South Platte River on
<br />the plains. ' ,
<br />
<br />Years back, when Colorado billed itself as the "Switzer-
<br />land of America," the Big Thompson Canyon was "The
<br />Loveland Grand Canyon." The canyon still is a place of
<br />cabins. cafes and curio shops. not franchised motels and
<br />drive-through restaurants.
<br />
<br />"I'm a farm boy from Nebraska, and I like this because
<br />ifs more like things used to be," said Duane Naylor, who,
<br />
<br />,',' ,
<br />Have your heard about the of' boy who died and'
<br />went to heaven?
<br />He was, visiting with St, Peter at the Peariy Gates.
<br />when'St, Peter asked him, "By the way, where did
<br />you live down on Earth?"
<br />The of' boy said he lived in the Big Thompson Can-
<br />yon of Colorado,
<br />And St. Peter said to him, "I want to welcome you ,
<br />here, but i doubt if you'll be satisfied. "
<br />
<br />- a story told by Gle,n Floyd, who has lived in
<br />the Big Thompson Canyon since 1958.
<br />
<br />with his wife, Dixie, moved to the canyon !l years ago after
<br />15 years in Loveland. They're drawn to the canyon by the
<br />brilliance of the wildflowers in summer, the smell of the
<br />pines after, a rain and the sunlight speckling the river, as
<br />well as living expenses one-quarter those of Loveland be.
<br />cause they heat and cook with wood.
<br />"The last place we moved out, of in Loveland, we never did
<br />know our' neigl1bors," said Dixie Naylor. "I hope I never
<br />have to leave the canyon. As far as I'm concerned this is
<br />about a perfect place to live:", '
<br />A few miles farther up the canyon, Dave and Katie McCoy
<br />are in' their second season as owners of Glen Erin resort,
<br />rental cottages at the edge of the river.
<br />"I'll tell you, we're not a bit afraid of ,anotherflood(
<br />Katie McCoy said. "1 would rather live here than with
<br />
<br />
<br />earthquakes in California, tornadoes in the Midwest or h
<br />canes on the coast."
<br />Still, they've taken precautions,
<br />They've cached food and survival gear on the moun
<br />above the cottages and bought a weather-band radio to w
<br />them of hostile conditions.
<br />"We've only had one guest who was uncomfortable t
<br />close to the water," Katie McCoy said. "But we've h
<br />people ask us to p,romise that we'll come to get them if
<br />starts raining:' .
<br />,The Big ThompsOn Canyon has a history of floods.
<br />other communities from Fort Collins to Pueblo also, ha
<br />been flooded and rebuilt or relocated because of water
<br />, comes spewing out of the foothills.
<br />A major flood could occur anywhere in Colorado,
<br />Larry Lang, chief of the flood-control section of the Colo
<br />do Water Conservation Board: He spoke 2 weeks ago at
<br />Boulder conference to' consider lessons learned from the B
<br />Thompson flood.
<br />"We ,have found we bave a 100-year flood every year
<br />some stream in Colorado," Lang said. And, "it looks like
<br />get one of these whammy floods ,OIl a 10- to l5-year s
<br />quence. It
<br />
<br />The consensus of the 90 meteorologists, geologists, socia
<br />9gists and disaster-management officials who took part :
<br />the 3-day conference was that the technology of forecastil1
<br />such a flood and mitigating its effects has increased.
<br />
<br />Still, "In 1986, we lack the understanding of the meteoro
<br />logical processes that cause a thunderstorm to build, stay i
<br />one, place and unleash tremendous amounts of water, as tJu
<br />storm did," said Curtis Barrett, flash-flood program lead,
<br />at the National Weather Service office in ,Silver Spring, M.
<br />
<br />Despite the teronological advances, lives still can be 10:
<br />unless a person leaves the deceptive protection of his hom
<br />car or camper to climb above the level of 'the onmshin
<br />water. -
<br />
<br />"I think we have more data, we're better prepared an
<br />we're working together better," said Eve Gruntfest, a
<br />assistant professor of geography 'at the University of Colo",
<br />do at Colorado Springs who organized the conference. "s
<br />thet'",have,been'SOUIe success stories, but 200 people (natiol
<br />wide) are still dying each year in floods, many of thel
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