Third body discovered in Boulder County flooding; 80 people classified as 'unaccounted for'
Sheriff says county's western side mostly isolated
Posted: 09/12/2013
Last Updated:
28 minutes ago
BOULDER, Colo. - A third death was confirmed in Boulder County Friday, the sheriff reported.
"We
believe it's the person we've been looking for," Sheriff Joe Pelle said
about the death, referring to a young woman who was previously reported
missing.
The woman was swept away from an area near Linden Drive
when the car she was riding in became caught in fast-moving water and
she tried to get out.
A man who was also in that car was found dead Thursday.
The
other death confirmed in Boulder County was reported late Wednesday
night in Jamestown, northwest of Boulder. Multiple buildings were
reported to have collapsed in Jamestown and the man who died was trapped
in one of the buildings.
Pelle, who said Thursday he feared more deaths could be discovered, again expressed concerns about unknown deaths or damage.
"The
thing that worries us the most are the things that we don't know right
now. We don't know about lives lost, homes lost, (or) people stranded in
many, many of the canyon areas in our upper communities. The effort to
assess that, document it and get people in there is going to be ongoing
for several days," Pelle said.
A total of 80 people are now considered "unaccounted for" by the Sheriff's Office. That's up from a previous count of 20.
The
classification means that friends or family members have called the
Sheriff's Office to report they lost contact with the individuals in
question.
During a Friday briefing about the flooding, officials
said those concerned about unaccounted people can contact the Boulder
Emergency Operations call center at 303-413-7730 and authorities will
try to locate them.
Pelle also described a staggering amount of
infrastructure damage in Boulder County. Four helicopters are being used
to ferry aid to communities like Jamestown that are inaccessible by
vehicles on the ground.
"This is a huge project and it will be
ongoing for a long time. Many, many communities in our western mountains
are completely isolated; There is no road access, no telephone
information, no power, no water, no septic, no sewer, and so we have our
hands full simply trying to assess what we have on our hands. We know
that we've lost every roadway leading to the western end of our county,"
he said.
The sheriff plans to be dependent on helicopters for the foreseeable future.
"The
roadways aren't simply blocked by mudslides or rock slides or debris.
The roadways are in many, many places completely gone," Pelle said.
A
federal "type 2 incident management team" is in Boulder County to take
over much of the management of the resources marshaled by the federal
government, national guard and local departments. The total manpower of
the effort is expected to double in the near future.
Earlier
Friday, City of Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner cautioned people that
Boulder County continues to be at risk and residents shouldn't let down
their guard, even if there's a momentary break in the rain.
"I stress the danger's not over," Beckner said. "We are not out of the woods yet. We are still in a critical condition."
The chief called the flood water rushing down from the mountains unprecedented during his career.
"In my 35 years, we're never had anything this significant," Beckner said.
The
chief asked residents to avoid driving in Boulder and to stay away from
creeks and other areas where water may rise. Beckner also urged people
to not visit Boulder until the severe weather ends.
"We're asking
people to not come to Boulder unless necessary. And the reason for that
is because if you get here, you might not be able to get out. Most roads
are closed," the chief warned.
Boulder Police Spokeswoman Kim
Kobel warned people to stay out of the waters, saying they are full of
sewage and dangerous debris.
President Barack Obama signed an emergency order Thursday night, approving federal disaster aid for Boulder County.
The
Town of Lyons was "isolated" by the flood waters and the sheriff said
people were sheltering on higher ground in that area. A mandatory
evacuation was issued for the Town of Jamestown.
The City of
Boulder's city manager has signed and issued a local disaster and
emergency declaration. The Governor also signed his own disaster
declaration and said he was working to put a declaration on the
President's desk through FEMA.
The Boulder County Office of
Emergency Management reported that approximately 40 buildings at CU
Boulder -- 25 percent of the campus -- have water damage. The campus
will remain closed through at least Thursday and Friday.
Thirteen
students from dorm rooms in two residence halls have been displaced
because their rooms have flooded, said CU spokesman Bronson Hilliard.
They will be put up in other areas of campus housing.
"Indications
are right now that the water damage in those is so severe that it could
be two-to-three weeks before we can return those students to their
specific rooms in those residence halls," Hilliard said.
Some 350
people in Family Housing apartments were evacuated because those
structures are so close to Boulder Creek. That's revised downward from
an earlier estimate of up to 500.
Some of the residents are sheltering with friends or family. Others were moved to available units on upper floors.
"We've got reports of water in lower floors in dozens and dozens of buildings on campus," Hilliard said.
There are 50 people working to assess the damage throughout the campus, he said.
"In
Leeds (School of Business), we've had some ceiling tiles that have come
down, we have some water damage on the upper floors … I've heard some
residence halls have an inch of water on the lower floors, but nobody
displaced from those yet," Hilliard said.
Hilliard said there is
minor damage to the library, theater, business building, and two
research buildings. He said experts believe there is likely minor damage
in nearly every campus building with a basement.
Boulder Creek runs through the CU Boulder campus.
Classes have been canceled thorugh Friday. Students and staff have been notified via text and email messages.
"I've
never seen this because of rain. I was a student at CU Boulder in the
1980s, I've been associated with CU for a long time, I've never seen
anything like it," Hilliard said.
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