Surveying the aftermath of the Big Thompson River canyon flash flood of July 31-Aug. 1, 1976, Larimer County Sheriff Bob Watson said: “Come morning, we are going to find bodies all over the damned place.”
The overnight disaster - one of the biggest in Colorado history - claimed 144 lives as the river raced at 23 feet per second and crested at 30 feet. More than 250 people were injured.
Flood heroes State Trooper W. Hugh Purdy and Estes Park Officer Michel O. Conley died evacuating the canyon.
The rains poured with a vengeance - particularly from Drake to Estes Park.
"A large stationary thunderstorm released as much as 7.5 inches of rainfall in about an hour," according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
"In steep mountain terrain with thin or no soil, this large amount of rainfall in such a short period of time produced a flash flood that caught residents and tourists by surprise," the agency said.
More than 800 people were rescued by helicopter the next day.
[Photo: State of Colorado, Mile High Flood District, Colorado State Patrol]
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