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<br />
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<br />
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<br />l..med
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<br />recommending that campus be dosed the next day_ Puuled, &moui
<br />w.lIkedovertohisdoorand flicked on the porch lightSure,itwaswcl, bUI
<br />Ilothing like what Hopkins Vr"aS describmg. ..It'soot that I don't bdien:
<br />you, Donn>" Bomotti.said, "but I\'e gOt to come and look at thism}'S<'J["
<br />Bomottidl'O\"t' nonh on ColJegeAvenue,butpolict' lurricades oeM
<br />Montgomery Ward forced him to turn east. jou could see tlll:re wa~ a
<br />m:wiveamountof"''3leroverlheroad down there, "hesa)'S. He managro
<br />lagel toPidin Street, and triedemeri.llgthe campus there, bill therrain
<br />had derailed, bJockingthe imersection. He backed up and drove 10 the
<br />South College Gym but found there was too much "'ilter there to cross,
<br />EventuaIIy. he fOWld his way to West MuJbell}'Su-eet and to the Laurd
<br />&redentraoceneartheOval. Wilh thestreedightsand poweroutaI10\'ef
<br />campus. he cautiow,ly crossed Laurel and parked his car neaf the
<br />entrance of theOva.!. He stepped outand looked to the Oval; a person in
<br />a rowboatpaddJedacroo1lo'hal.earlierin theday,had been a~"}' IaW"fl.
<br />Drivingwoton Laureland lhensouthonShields, Bomouisatin his
<br />carand waoched theriv~rt:hat ~iiSrunning from West Elizabelh Street
<br />onto campus. Severalearsfloated by. Near the football practice field, he
<br />could see agaping bole in the pavement Backrrad.ing, hewen! back up
<br />West Laurel and turned onlo Meridian Avenue. Outside the student
<br />center, News 4 was doing a Jive btoadca.n, shooting footage of water
<br />gwhingintothebuilding:Hedrovefurthereastand parked ne'MSpmce
<br />Hall, then walked down Mason Street, where he heard a thunderous
<br />noise. Thepedestrianrnnnel thatrunsundenherailroad rrads behind
<br />Johnson Hall had turned into M.1 hydroelectric spillway, M he recills. ..It was
<br />dark, but thewaterwas boiling enough that you could see a white cloud
<br />ofwaeerflying r.hrough the tunnel,"
<br />Unable to get to his office in the Administration Building, Bomoui
<br />left campus and wemhome. "I had enough information to feel thit[ the
<br />campuswasn '(going fo operate as nonnal the following day."
<br />
<br />The day after
<br />
<br />By July 29, five people had drowned, and hundreds more were
<br />rendered homeless, evt'rything but thewet dotheson their backs \t4Shed
<br />: away. Therity's rescuers had made nearly 500 rescues. HOt-wired buses
<br />took evacuees to schools and other shelters. Red Cross volunteers came
<br />in with food and clothing. The peopJe of Fort Collins came together to
<br />help sarch for lost pelS, dean upmuckydebrU, collect donations, find
<br />housing, share their compassion.
<br />On the Main Campus that morning. many of the hffl)(-S who had
<br />Iaboredlong':-dcourageowly through the night paused to catch their
<br />breath. At the same time, many oflhe 3.500}'Outhsand counselors who
<br />hadspentan uncomfortable night in theseauandon the floorofMoby
<br />Arena began lo peeroutwindowsinto the disappearing gloom.
<br />The water was reced.ing, but in its wake it lefta spectacular path of
<br />desrruction.
<br />The flood had swept over nearly two-thirds the ground area of the
<br />~!ain Campus. Insome low-fyingareas, thewaterhadreachedadepth of
<br />lOfeetor more. Basementswere flooded all overcampus;more than 30
<br />buiJdingshadbeendamaged. Damageestimal<sbeganat$45millionand
<br />would eventuaIlydimb to$loo million. TIle flood's path was marked by
<br />, mUd,silt,debris,anddestruction.
<br />In addition to the 6.51 inches of rain that fell directly on the Main
<br />Campus, flash.flood waters had roared onto campus from the west,
<br />main1yfrom WestEIizabethStreet Though MobyArena l\ilSSpared, the
<br />water tore up large chunks of asphalt in the arena parking 10[ before
<br />turningsoutheastandrollingacross the intramural fields. I tscooped out
<br />and scattered theinfield of the new softball fieJdand knocked down the
<br />walls oflhe new in-line skating rink before flowing into the lagoon and
<br />Arthur Ditch. Hartshorn Health Service was directly in its pam. In its
<br />basement, CSUPDwascompletelyunderwater.
<br />Forashorttime, LoryStudentCemeracted likeahugedam, holding
<br />back tbewaterthat had turned the lagoon into a lake. Thewater rose as
<br />high as six feetagainst the west side of the building before it blew out the
<br />dool1lnexttotheRamskelIer. Thedeluge roared into !he Ca\'e and game
<br />room, then swirled back around through the bowling alley into the
<br />Ramskeller. The water continued to whirl around, picking up video
<br />games, furniture, pool tables, and vending machines> churning it all
<br />together and reducing everything to splinters and rubble. Then, \tiu)
<br />nowhere else togo, thewaterburstthroughwallsanddoors, engu1finglhe
<br />whole lower level The bookstore's entire S5 million im<elltol}' for faU
<br />seme3ter classes turned into slimy pulp. Srudent Media, including me
<br />office. oflbe Rncily M<>unJain ~ Silver Sprua, KCSU, and Campus
<br />lV, were gutted. Officefumiture hung in lreesoutside Iheradiostation.
<br />Thewarer left the building through the lower doors, merged with water
<br />lbat filled lbe oorlb parking lot, and headed for lbe O\'al.
<br />Another fale formed at the Oval, flooding nearly every building on
<br />the rree-lined drive. The water broke into the Occupational Therapy
<br />BUilding,fiIlingthebasementwith such forcethatitsJammed up against
<br />the ceiling until the floor above bulged upward like a balloon. In the
<br />Music Building, the marching band's uniforms and sheet music were
<br />lost ManyinstrumeDlsweredamaged ordestro}'ed. Theground levels of
<br />Johnson HaIl and the Administrative Annex were littered with over-
<br />turned furniture, computertenninals, andsoggy paper. A boiler in the
<br />Heating Plant exploded, Gibbon, Spruce Hall, and the Soulb College
<br />Gym also suffered d:Jm~Q"p ,.. '''-a ..,_.~_ _ . .
<br />
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