POUDRE CANYON, Colo. (KDVR) — Officials on Thursday lifted the mandatory evacuation along Highway 14 in northern Colorado, which encompassed around 26 miles, allowing area residents back to their homes after devastating floods.
One woman who was helping friends at the site where the flash flood hit was overwhelmed by what she saw.
“This is devastating. This is devastating for my friends. It’s hard to take it in,” Bonnie Karagan said.
Five homes were washed away. Investigators have recovered the body of a woman, and three more people remain missing. But finding those still missing has proven extremely difficult for responders.
Crews used a drone to search along a bend in the river.
“We do not know if they were in one of the homes that were washed away or if they were in a vehicle or outside. We do not have that information right now,” Larimer County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson David Moore.
Suzan Bondphilpott was allowed back into the disaster zone to check on her home, which has been in her family since the late 1800s.
It was intact. It survived the Cameron Peak Fire, and escaped the wrath of Mother Nature once again.
“It’s overwhelming. I can’t even imagine what it use to look like. It was just a little dirt driveway, and now its a huge rock pile,” Bondphilpott said, fighting back tears.