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Man Presumed Dead is Alive After Big Thompson Flood of 1976
By PK | August 4, 2008
Darryl Johnson, now 63 and living in Oklahoma, was presumed to be one of the missing victims of the 1976 Big Thompson Flood. Johnson and his family had rented a cabin along Big Thompson River, but unhappy with his accommodations, they left that morning on July 31, 1976.
The Big Thompson Flood took 139 lives that fateful evening after the National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm warning at 7:35pm.
(Big Thompson Canyon, Aug. 2, 2008, along US Route 34)
By 9:00 pm on July 31, 1976, more severe warnings were issued to expect flooding of the Big Thompson River, but no one knew the impending danger and what turned out to be Colorado’s Second Largest Natural Disaster.
For most, this warning was too late as 11 inches of rain had already fallen throughout the area in just four hours. The narrow canyon funneled the 20 foot wall of water taking the lives of 139 people, destroying 316 homes, 45 mobile homes, and 52 businesses.
Larimer County now owns 153 parcels of land along the Big Thompson River purchased from landowners following the Big Thompson Canyon Flood with the use of Federal Flood Grant, state and county money.
Many of those who lost their homes were not allowed to rebuild.
The county wants to sell some of the land that has no public value due to high maintenance costs. Area anglers and wildlife groups want it preserved for public use, while some residents would like to purchase the land to prevent public abuse.
This is an ongoing recent debate and if you’d like to read more, click here.
Dalton and I traveled through the Big Thompson Canyon this past Saturday. The first time I’d seen the canyon was back in May of 2008. I had not heard of the flood, at that time, being new to Colorado. This second trip through the canyon, though it’s beauty is hard to ignore, reminded me of all the lives that were lost on that fateful day 32 years ago. We seen places for sale, as we are in the market to buy, but never could I purchase land here in this beautiful canyon for any price. I shivered as I imagined a wall of water rushing through the canyon.
As I’ve coached many times in my articles on Colorado, to pay close attention to the weather conditions. One motto of Colorado is…’If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes and it’ll change.’ So very true! In a land that is rugged and beautiful, it can become hazardous and dangerous quickly. During our hiking and camping experiences, we constantly pull our eyes away from the wildlife and awesome views of the mountains to scan all around us for any changes in the weather.
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Topics: Colorado |
