Flooding in Colorado Leaves Three Dead
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(BOULDER, Colo.) — At least three people are dead after heavy rain drenched parts of Colorado overnight, causing some serious flooding.
“We have confirmed one fatality and that was in Jamestown due to a structure collapse. But we don’t have any other details and we can’t get up in there,” Gabrielle Boerkircher, a spokeswoman for Boulder County Emergency Management, told ABC News Radio.
Another body was later found further south in Colorado Springs.
“CSFD Heavy Rescue and T4 have just completed a body recovery at S. Nevada and I25 due to the flooding,” the Colorado Springs Fire Department tweeted Thursday morning.
A monsoon system has lingered over Boulder County since Monday, but the heaviest rain began falling late Wednesday night.
“In the Boulder area, Boulder County, we’ve had anywhere from 4 to 7 inches over the last several hours,” Jim Kalina at the National Weather Service in Boulder said.
The flash flooding has led to mudslides and road closures, which is hampering rescue efforts.
“We’re trying to send deputies out to do some search and rescue while they can but we’re trying to find available routes for them. The roads are very flooded. A lot of water on the roads,” Boerkircher said.
Evacuations have also been ordered for some areas as a result.
“We’ve evacuated the areas in the Four Mile Canyon area which is where two years ago there was a large fire. So that area was very prone to flooding. And then we evacuated the town of Jamestown which is north of the Four Mile burn area,” Andrew Barth, a spokesman for the city of Boulder, told ABC News Radio.
He advised residents to “stay home, shelter in place if we haven’t asked you to leave” because the “roadways are a mess.”
The heavy rain in Boulder County has since eased off Thursday morning but more could be on the way.
“For the moment we’re kind of on the edge of a bigger storm. And the eye of that storm is too the east of us. We’re ok for right now. Hoping it stays over, out of our way,” Boerkircher said.
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