Devastating Flooding in Still-Isolated Lyons, Colorado

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By Tom Yulsman
Sep 12, 2013 10:41 PMNov 19, 2019 10:57 PM
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All photos: Courtesy Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock At about 2 a.m. I saw a Tweet from my good friend Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock, who lives in Lyons, Colorado, saying that she was being evacuated from her home because of flooding. Then, nothing. Until a few minutes ago, when she posted 25 photos to Facebook showing what the "biblical"-scale rainfall here in the Denver-Boulder area (as the National Weather Service describes it) has done to her town at the foot of the mountains. She reports that she is safe, but that she and her family are totally cut off in the town — they cannot get out. From Facebook: "Tom, we are in a good spot and totally isolated. No way in or out." She reports that her home is getting hit in the front by North Saint Vrain Creek, and from the back by South Saint Vrain Creek. "We can't get to it." This area has received about 9 inches of rain in 18 hours, compared to the average for the entire month of September of 1.68 inches. Flooding is widespread, and minutes ago I heard reports from the University of Colorado that a "wall of water" was rampaging down Boulder Canyon. Not sure what is happening with that yet. Suffice it to say, this is bad. Bonnie-Sue has given me permission to share her pictures here. All of them were taken in Lyons. So far, I have seen no other on-scene images of what's happening there.

Photo courtesy Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

Photo courtesy Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

Photo courtesy Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

Photo courtesy Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

Photo courtesy Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

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