Jeff is an executive producer with the Denver7 Digital Team.
LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. — It was one of the worst natural disasters to ever strike Colorado when a 20-foot “wall” of water rushed through Big Thompson Canyon west of Loveland in Larimer County.
47 years later, the impact and final damage are known, but we want to take you back and show you how the story unfolded so you can see how Coloradans reacted to the tragedy. Permanent residents along the canyon did receive some warning of the impending flood, but the majority of victims were those people who were camped alongside the river and only received the first hint of trouble when the water rapidly rose along darkened campgrounds.
“The hundreds who were trapped along the Big Thompson used headlights and flashlights to signal to the helicopter above, but the rescue operations would have to wait until morning. Gusty winds, darkness and the torrential downpour left the chopper helpless,” Denver7 photojournalist Ernie Thornton reported from the scene. “10 helicopters were ferrying people out of the disseminated narrow canyon.
Cliff Dykeman was with his wife and three daughters below Estes Park when the storm struck and recounted his expeience to Denver7 photojournalist Thornton “The individual acts of courage up there I'm sure that played out last night are going to be continued stories for the next month. There are some great people that came out of any disaster situation,” Governor Lamm said on Denver7 News.
“We were inside and when it went the whole cabin just completely - just like a tinker toy - just disintegrated. We were down under the water and next thing I knew I was in the water but I was able to walk out,” Watson recalled.
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