From the Loveland Reporter-Herald, here is a story about the flood caused by a dam failure in our nearby tourist town. It didn't affect our property, but certainly got everyone's attention.

One of the roofers was telling me that he was there when the initial wall of water roared down the main street. He said it had so much velocity, it had a rectangular shape. He was standing in an alley to the side, and didn't get wet - if he stuck his hand out, he could touch it and stay dry. After it slowed down, the water spread out and covered the side streets.



1982 Flood Changed Downtown Estes Park
"Thirty years ago Sunday, a wall of water forever changed the landscape in downtown Estes Park. The Lawn Lake Dam, high in the Mummy Range area of Rocky Mountain National Park, broke during the early morning hours of July 15, 1982, unleashing a torrent of water that eventually swamped Elkhorn Avenue.

In the aftermath, the area was rebuilt through a combination of private and public funds. It also led to the establishment of the now expired Estes Park Urban Renewal Authority.

"We often remember the Lawn Lake flood for its destruction," Estes Park town administrator Frank Lancaster said. "Tragically, it claimed three lives as well as the livelihoods of many downtown business owners. But in the wake of the flood, the community had a unique opportunity to pull together and create a new downtown, with new buildings, businesses, parks and trails.

"What we see today is a blend of what was spared by the flood, as well as what the community envisioned for its future."

The flood was first reported a little after 6 a.m. by former town trustee Stephen Gillette, who was a driver for A-1 Trash Service at the time.

He was making a pickup at the Lawn Lake trailhead and "heard a roar and saw debris in the air," he said in an interview following the flood in 1982. "It was like a jet had crashed into the mountain."

Millions of gallons of water rushed down Roaring River, creating the alluvial fan that is still visible today. The water merged with Fall River in Horseshoe Park and collapsed the Cascade Dam before joining the Big Thompson River and dumping into Lake Estes. The water hit the west edge of Estes Park around 8:12 a.m.

Flood waters destroyed 18 bridges, damaged road systems (particularly Fall River Road), inundated 177 businesses (75 percent of Estes Park's commercial activity) and damaged 108 residences. Most businesses reported 3 to 4 feet of water, and as much as 2 feet of mud, in their establishments.

According to stories in the Estes Park Trail-Gazette, 62 percent of the merchants who were affected by the flood either lost their business or moved away without rebuilding.

Those who stayed faced a long, harrowing and expensive cleanup process. They had to rebuild during the busy summer season in Estes Park.

The floodwaters that hit downtown Estes Park were devastating.

Almost every store along the river in the downtown core area was damaged when the wall of water rolled through.


Floodwaters from the 1982 Lawn Lake flood blow out the back wall of a business on West Elkhorn. (Special to the Reporter-Herald/Town of Estes Park)

The shops on the south side of Elkhorn and Fall River generally suffered more damage.

The hardest hit areas were the Fall River Trailer Court, Nicky's Resort and the Ponderosa Lodge.

Three people lost their lives in what was called the worst natural disaster to ever hit Estes Park. All three were campers staying in the path of the flood waters. Two were camping in the Aspenglen Campground and a third was a camper last seen below Lawn Lake in the Roaring Fork drainage.

The water began receding about midafternoon.

The cleanup process began almost immediately.

Store owners were required to obtain special permits to enter the devastated area. The National Guard had set up a strict curfew of the downtown area beginning at 8 p.m. the night of the flood."