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Doorbell camera shows debris flowing into Poudre River during flooding
Debris floats on the Powder River near Rustic in northern Colorado on Tuesday, July 20, 2021.
Fort Collins Colorado
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Tuesday night’s flooding in Powder Canyon left a trail of destruction – and more flooding is possible Wednesday afternoon.
A woman has died and two men are missing, Larimer County Sheriff’s Office captain Joe Shellhammer told Colorado.
Shellhammer said at least five homes in the Black Hollow area were destroyed and a private bridge at Profile Rock Road was damaged.
A spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Transportation told Coloradoan on Wednesday that about six mudslides have occurred as a result of flooding.
A long field of debris was left along the river, including propane tanks, stove pipes, lawn chairs, dishes, garden sheds and an American flag.
Colorado Highway 14 along the Poudre River, also known as the Poudre Canyon Highway, remains closed from Rustic to Cameron Pass. The CDOT teams were working on cleaning the road, which was littered with debris early Wednesday morning.
A flash flood watch is in effect from noon to 8 p.m.
Here are the latest updates available on Wednesday. If you missed Tuesday night’s updates, you can find them here.
The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office advises against rafting, kayaking on the Powder River due to unsafe conditions and asked commercial rafting companies not to operate on Wednesday, Coloradoan Captain Joe Shellhammer said.
– Miles Blumhardt
A woman has died and two men are missing, Larimer County Sheriff’s Office captain Joe Shellhammer told Colorado.
A vehicle spilled into the river by Arrowhead Lodge, where multiple mudslides occurred, but Shellhammer said it is currently unknown whether the deceased is connected to that vehicle or not.
Dive and rescue teams were searching for the person’s body on Wednesday, Shellhammer said.
“Our deepest sympathy goes out to the as yet unidentified victim of this flood and his family as well as any other potential victims who have yet to be located,” Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith said in a Facebook message just before 1 a.m. Wednesday.
About an inch of rain fell over the Crown Point area in a short period of time on Tuesday, Shellhammer said. This rain drained into the Black Hollow area and created a debris dam that burst, causing flash floods and mudslides.
Shellhammer said at least five homes in the Black Hollow area were destroyed and a private bridge at Profile Rock Road was damaged.
– Miles Blumhardt
Poudre Valley REA crews restored power to around 30 members on Tuesday night after a flash flood in Poudre Canyon, but relief could take significantly longer for 101 others, the utility said on Wednesday in an article on Facebook.
“For these members, we expect outages that could last for several days due to the damage in the area,” PVREA wrote. “Our team is working with emergency personnel this morning to assess the damage and determine access points to continue work in Poudre Canyon.”
At 9:30 a.m., a PVREA outage map showed around 90 members still without power, with pockets of power outage located between Rustic and Chambers Lake.
– Sarah Kyle and Rebecca Powell
The Gateway Natural Area, located 15 miles west of Fort Collins, where the North Fork of the Powder River meets the Main River, is closed until further notice, Fort Collins Natural Areas tweeted on Wednesday.
– Sarah Kyle
At least one person has died and more are missing, Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith said in a Facebook post just before 1 a.m. Wednesday.
“We are working from reports of three missing people from this area,” Smith wrote. “We have located a deceased victim in the area, but we were unable to recover the body tonight. These operations will resume tomorrow morning. We also believe that there may be two more people still missing due to the flooding in the area. ‘today.
“… Our deepest condolences go to the as yet unidentified victim of this flood and his or her family as well as any other potential victims who remain to be located.”
– Sarah Kyle
Debris from Tuesday’s flooding traveled downstream from Fort Collins along the Poudre Trail, the city of Fort Collins said Wednesday morning.
“Use caution along the trail as there could be moving water, debris or hazards below the surface and around bridges,” the city said in an alert on its alerts and emergencies page on storm water.
A reporter from Colorado is visiting various access points along the river to check conditions, and updates will be posted here.
Just before 8 a.m., there was no more debris in the river at the Shields River access via Poudre River Whitewater Park on College Avenue. At the entrance to the River Lions Park, the water was darker and seemed to flow more profusely just after 8 a.m. The river was still largely clear of large debris.
– Sarah Kyle and Molly Bohannon
Casey Beck had just set up camp at Ansel Watrous campground and had a bite to eat when the rain came on Tuesday. It was bright enough that Beck had been outside except for about 10 minutes.
Nebraskan heard Sheriff’s deputies moving up and down Colorado 14 telling people to evacuate the river. Beck and Beck’s wife took their dog and grabbed what they could, but left the tent, sleeping bags, and maps. They were hoping to go back to the campsite on Wednesday.
Beck, visiting Colorado for the first time, was among a handful of campers waiting for information at an evacuation center set up by the American Red Cross at Cache La Poudre College on Tuesday night to find out when or if they could resume their vacation. . They all reported light rain and nothing abnormal along the Powder. They didn’t know upstream, all hell was breaking loose.
Leandro Wauters, his father Alberto, 72, and Wheaton’s Terrier Ramone, 3, stopped to camp alongside the Powder on a cross-country trip that started a week ago in New York City .
“We were just sitting there waiting for the rain to stop,” when he heard the evacuation order. Everything seemed calm. “We thought they meant the people on the river,” he said.
“Luckily when it started to rain we put stuff in the car” so it wouldn’t get wet, he said.
Laura and Som Sengehan waited nervously at the evacuation center for news of their friends camping near Kelly Flats along Powder. The Kansas couple were on their way to meet them but were delayed by a flat tire. By the time they got to Colorado 14 it was closed.
“We can’t reach them,” Laura said, but that’s not unusual with spotty cell service in the canyon.
“We know they’re probably freaked out about us too. We really want our friends to be safe.
Longtime canyon resident Bonnie Siegel lives along Colorado 14, 1.7 miles from Ted’s Place. His place didn’t have any rain at all. “But you could see it settling higher,” she said.
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Blaine Howerton, editor of North 40 News and mountain dweller, was delivering newspapers to the resort town of Glen Echo near Rustic when he saw black water and heard that a bridge was down.
He was not sure that the information was correct. Other than the color of the river, everything looked normal. Even going down the canyon there were still kayakers on the river. “The river looked way below Glen Echo. We were just ahead, ”he said.
Howerton wasn’t worried about his home on Kings Canyon Road, it sits on higher ground. He and his kids drove to Ted’s Place to drop off a friend, but by then Colorado 14 had been closed and they couldn’t get up.
Evacuations are not new to Howerton; it was evacuated five times in the Cameron Peak fire last year. But it’s getting old.
“Six times in a year is crazy,” he said. “If you live in the mountains, you have fires” and flash floods.
– Pat Ferrier
What we know: Powder Canyon Floods
The conditions that led to Tuesday’s flooding could repeat themselves on Wednesday, with flash flood monitoring in effect from noon to 8 p.m.
The thunderstorms could produce heavy rains on both Cameron Peak and burn scars to the east and lead to more flash flooding in those areas, the National Weather Service has warned.
What is the difference between a watch and a weather service warning? A watch means that it is possible for dangerous weather conditions to occur, but it is not certain whether it will occur and where and when it could occur.
“It’s meant to provide enough time for those who need to get their plans into motion,” according to the weather service’s website. “… People should have a plan of action in case a storm threatens and they should listen to subsequent information and possible warnings, especially when planning trips or outdoor activities.”
A warning signifies that the weather conditions constitute a threat to life and / or property are occurring, are about to occur, or are likely to occur.
The Cameron Peak fire burned over 208,000 acres as of August and is the largest wildfire in Colorado history. It stripped and blackened the mountain sides of Larimer County, leaving the area vulnerable to flash floods during the rains.
Colorado experiences monsoon patterns in late July that often cause flash floods, such as the 1997 Spring Creek Flood in Fort Collins and the Big Thompson Flood in 1976.
According to the Larimer County Emergency Management Office, few places in fear of fire burns are as threatened by potential flooding as the Upper Buckhorn Canyon property. Other areas in the highest risk category of the county’s post-fire risk assessment include Monument Gulch / Pingree Park, Laramie River Valley, and Rustic / Glen Echo / Goodell Corner.
– Sarah Kyle and Miles Blumhardt
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