Rising Water, Rushing Creeks Cause Problems

BOULDER, Colo. -- The massive volume of spring runoff is creating dangerous conditions in the foothills, prompting precautionary sandbagging, water rescues and the closure of three waterways.

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Rising Rivers, Creeks Spell Danger

Crews were sandbagging in Georgetown Thursday afternoon as Clear Creek continued to rise. Cabin Creek, which comes down off Guanella Pass, was pushing Cleark Creek to bankfull.

The sandbagging was done as a precaution.

In Larimer County, the dive rescue team and Poudre Canyon quick response team responded to a 911 call reporting an overturned raft in the Poudre Canyon just west of Mishawaka at 2:00 P.M. Thursday.

When they arrived, emergency workers found the overturned raft with two rafters on the road side of the river but three were stranded on the other side of the Poudre River.

The three stranded rafters were safely brought across the river by 3:30 P.M. The rafters ranged in age from mid-20s to mid-30s and were somewhat exhausted but in otherwise good condition, emergency workers reported.

Meanwhile, 22-year-old Westminster man remained in critical condition at Boulder Community Hospital after two passersby rescued him from the rushing water Wednesday afternoon.

Boulder County sheriff's officials said that at about 3 p.m. Gualberto Aguilar-Loria fell in the Boulder Creek about a half-mile west of Boulder. He was swept downstream by the turbulent waters to Eben G. Fine Park, where he was pulled from the rampaging creek by two Boulder men.

The rising water also stranded three hikers on the south bank of Boulder Creek, about 6 miles west of Boulder in Boulder Canyon.

The hikers, who had crossed the creek on exposed rocks the previous night, returned Wednesday morning to find the area where they had crossed under several feet of water. Using a fire engine equipped with a cherry-picker, Boulder firefighters extracted the three hikers from their precarious perch. All three men -- Joseph Trumble of Arkansas; JohnVeasey of Ohio; and Richard Reiley of Englewood, Colo, -- were in good condition.

Further south, on Clear Creek, strong current stranded two kayakers, who lost their kayaks in the water and ended up stuck on the opposite side of the stream with no way to get back. Rescue crews from Golden were able to reach to the kayakers and bring them safely to shore. Neither were injured. A friend of the kayakers said it all happened quickly.

"They both ended up swimming. I was chasing their gear all the way down to Golden and I couldn't make it. I got one of their boats," said kayaker Mike Jenrette.

Rescuer say that with the water on these creeks running so high, only the most experienced kayakers should attempt to take on the creeks and even they should take extra precautions.

The high water on Boulder Creek has forced officials to make it off-limits to rafters and tubers on Wednesday. That ban was extended to North St. Vrain Creek and a portion of the St. Vrain River on Thursday.

Because of a state statute, kayakers and whitewater canoers cannot be prohibited from using these three waterways, but Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle emphasized that it is very risky given the current turbulent conditions.

The Boulder Creek ban, enacted Wednesday, extends from Barker Dam in the mountains near Nederland, through the city of Boulder and east to the county line -- a total distance of about 30 miles. The Boulder Creek flow more than quadrupled from Tuesday night to Wednesday afternoon, from 120 cubic feet per second to 520 cfs. Pelle said the creek could reach its highest levels since 1995, when it was closed to recreation for several weeks.

Water began spilling over the top of Barker Dam on Tuesday night, said Jim Creek, water source manager at the dam.

"The cause is that 8-foot snow dump we got in March," said Jim Creek, a water source manager at the dam. "It's all just starting to melt."

The closure of the North St. Vrain Creek encompasses the area from Buttonrock Reservoir (5 miles west of Lyons) to its confluence with the South St. Vrain Creek in Lyons, where the two streams join to form the St. Vrain River. The St. Vrain River is closed through the Town of Lyons to U.S. Highway 36, one mile east of Lyons.

Additional Resources:

• Real-Time Colorado Stream Flow Data