Photos & Video of Evergreen Flooding/Updates & Help Needed

Amazing stories of courage and loss.

“I started panicking and I couldn’t breathe, and Wesley said, ‘It’s OK, Emily, I’ll drive.’ So I let him drive, and we kept driving and we just hit a wall of water and rocks,” Briggs

With the car stopped, Quinlan said everyone should get out and try to reach safety.

“Our feet were just thrown in the air,” said Nathan Jennings, who survived along with Briggs.

Wiyanna Nelson, 19, was swept away first, and Quinlan tried to rescue her, the survivors said.

“I looked at Wesley and he looked at me, and he jumped after her,” Briggs said. She got back in the car and was rescued later. Jennings couldn’t get back to the car but grabbed a log until a firefighter rescued him.

http://kdvr.com/2013/09/16/stories-of-h ... ado-flood/

Waggoner and his neighbors spent hours listening to the thundering sounds of rocks being pushed around by the raging Big Thompson River. They watched it approach the next home, and eventually wash it away around 9:20 a.m.

"My house was next in line for that," Waggoner feared, but never actually saw it happen.

He had a chance to get some things out Friday morning before conditions became unsafe.

Meanwhile, debris from a decimated RV park was washed away and became stuck under a bridge. It blocked part of the swollen river and sent the water up onto Highway 43.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/lo ... d-in-drake

[youtube:1oneif1j][/youtube:1oneif1j]

Thank you for your attentiveness and preparedness last night. Here is a video taken last night at 10:00 PM in downtown Evergreen.

Please remain aware of the conditions in your area today. A flash flood advisory remains in place for areas within Jefferson County until 9:15 AM. A flood watch will be in effect from 12:00 PM - 7:00 PM this evening (9/16). See the National Weather Service for more information.

Flash Flood Watch in effect from September 16, 12:00 PM MDT until September 16, 07:00 PM MDT
Flood Advisory in effect from September 15, 09:22 PM MDT until September 16, 09:15 AM MDT

Posted by Jeffco Sheriff at 7:24 AM

http://jeffcosheriff.blogspot.com/

frogger wrote: Amazing stories of courage and loss.

http://kdvr.com/2013/09/16/stories-of-h ... ado-flood/

Waggoner and his neighbors spent hours listening to the thundering sounds of rocks being pushed around by the raging Big Thompson River. They watched it approach the next home, and eventually wash it away around 9:20 a.m.

"My house was next in line for that," Waggoner feared, but never actually saw it happen.

He had a chance to get some things out Friday morning before conditions became unsafe.

Meanwhile, debris from a decimated RV park was washed away and became stuck under a bridge. It blocked part of the swollen river and sent the water up onto Highway 43.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/lo ... d-in-drake

Could be why we saw the sign on 285 that said 43 was closed.

That was my thought when I read the article.

Status update from Facebook.....

Status Update
By Evergreen Christian Outreach (EChO)
What an amazing community we live in! Yesterday I was contacted by Megan and Gary at Cactus Jack's asking if EChO could use all of the food they had in their refrigerators and freezers. Here they were, dealing with major flooding issues at their business, and they took the time to reach out to us and offer us the food. Today we received 1,000 lbs of food from them! (They had generators hooked up to keep all of the food cold or frozen. ) Unfortunately they are still dealing with flooding issues again today. Please help and support them as they clean up and get ready to open back up. And please stop by and thank Gary and Megan for being such valuable members of our community.
Thank you Cactus Jack's!
Sharon Smith, Executive Director

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php? ... 8001247141

For the first time in a week....there is NO rain on a radar map. Yeah!

http://www.wunderground.com/radar/radbl ... ightning=1

Monday morning Update 9-16 10 a.m.
There’s a break in the storm, but serious conditions continue in large parts of Jefferson County.

TODAY IS A DAY TO THINK SAFETY
There is an increased emphasis on damage assessment today. Private and commercial structures and public infrastructure has been compromised in northern portions of the county, Coal Creek Canyon, the Bear Creek drainages, Golden Gate Canyon and other areas. Jefferson County or Incident Management personnel with official identification may be in affected areas to obtain property damage information.
The Colorado National Guard will be continuing with sandbagging efforts today in and above Evergreen.
The public is warned to never work near running water without a life jacket or other personal flotation device, even on their own property. Everyone should avoid fast-flowing water if at all possible.
Standing water continues to be a serious health danger. Feet and legs should be protected from exposure to flood water. Any cut or other skin break contacting flood water, especially standing water, can be a doorway for dangerous infection.
See these links to the Jefferson County Public Health Department for detailed information on how to protect your health if you have been impacted by flooding:

Flood Fact Sheet
Food and Water Safety
Food Service Establishments Disaster Handout

Posted by Jeffco Sheriff at 9:58 AM

http://jeffcosheriff.blogspot.com/

Latest on State Highway Road Closures from CDOT

From the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT):
As you are aware, parts of our state are experiencing historic flooding with catastrophic damage to the transportation network. To say what has happened over the last week and over the weekend is unprecedented is an understatement. As of today, we know that we have lost 30 state highway bridges, with damage to 20 more, and another 20 structures that can’t be reached for inspection. As state elected officials, we would like to share with you the latest in our recovery work and where to find the up-to-date information on highway closures.
Teams of Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) maintenance and engineering personnel worked through the weekend to assess infrastructure condition. CDOT crews are continuing to evaluate infrastructure to ensure public safety and provide estimates on what lies ahead for the recovery and reconstruction. Once conditions are safe, it will take several weeks to determine the actual extent and cost of damage to our highway system. A special team from the Vermont Department of Transportation is already in Colorado to share lessons and best practices from their monumental recovery from Hurricane Irene. In addition, CDOT is organizing regional meetings with local partners to determine the full extent of the impact from this historic disaster and to coordinate rebuilding efforts. Recovering from the flooding will be the biggest challenge in our 100 year history, and perhaps the biggest challenge CDOT will face in the next 100 years.
Below you will find links to the latest information we have regarding closures. Please note that the closures below are only for state highways and interstates. Cities, counties and towns may have closed additional roads in their specific area. For safety reasons, CDOT is recommending that travelers do not stop on the highways to view the water or roadway damage.
Get the latest Highway Flood information and check for updates

You can also find roadway and travel information at www.cotrip.org and on your mobile device with the CDOT Mobile App. To download CDOT Mobile, simply text “CDOT” to 25827 or search CDOT Mobile in your App Store

Posted by Jeffco Sheriff at 2:39 PM

http://jeffcosheriff.blogspot.com/