As my colleagues, Dan Frosch and Jack Healy reported, Colorado’s worst flooding in years has killed at least four people, washed away homes and roads and forced thousands of residents from Pueblo to Fort Collins to flee.
Aerial video footage and images captured on Friday by videographer Payton H. Peterson show the extent of the damage in Longmont and Lyons after 12 inches of rain.
On Saturday, the authorities said they would use helicopters to try to reach the 172 people in Boulder who remained unaccounted for, mostly in remote sections of the county, where landlines and cell service were down, theDenver Post reports. More rain is expected through Sunday.
“There might be further loss of life,” Sheriff Joe Pelle of Boulder County warned at a news conference on Saturday. “It’s certainly a high probability … With an army of folks and an air show we’re hoping to reach everyone as soon as possible.”
An evacuation of fifth-grade students is planned for Saturday. They were attending an outdoor education program at the Cal-Wood Education Center in Jamestown when the town was cut off by floodwaters. To help keep nervous families informed, the center’s Facebook page posted regular updates on how the children were doing, including what they had for dinner last night.
“They are having hard tacos with all of the fixings. Then for the evening program they are having a dance party. We have had contact with our executive director who shared that the students, teachers, and parents are doing very well. Fireside teacher Mary K. says ‘they are having an absolutely great time.’”
From a helicopter, the scale of the damage is evident. In this video, Mr. Peterson captured aerial footage of Lyons, which is west of Longmont, and where many people were rescued Friday after being trapped and cut off by the rising waters and destroyed roads.
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