Inspiration: Flood

On July 31, 1976, around 4,000 people had gathered in Estes Park to celebrate Colorado’s Centennial. It had been raining all day, receiving somewhere around 12 to 14 inches in over a 4 hour period. By 9:00 p.m., water in the Big Thompson River went from an average depth of 18” to a 20-foot wall of water surging down the canyon. The result was the flood that took 144 lives and injured 150 people. Bodies were carried as far as 25 miles away. The flood caused $35 million in damage, destroyed 418 homes and 52 businesses, over 400 vehicles, and most of the bridges, roads, highway and power/telephone lines that were in its path.

I was a mission leader with the Alpine Rescue Team. We were called in the night of the flood. I led a field team for two days down the North Fork to find survivors and bodies (we did). It remains the single most amazing experience of my life to see that level of devastation and nature's power.

Before the water receded, you could hear boulders crunching in the stream.

Flash floods are usually water rising much quicker than you expect. In the narrowest parts of the canyon, it was reported that the water roared through like a tidal wave.