LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. — The forest service said on Thursday it was a 15-foot wall of water that came rushing down Black Hollow Creek into the Poudre Canyon on Tuesday night, sweeping away homes, cars and those living near Black Hollow Bridge.
Rescuers have recovered one body so far, but three others remain missing. All of the missing are from the same family, according to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Department.
At the Black Hollow Bridge just past Rustic in the Poudre Canyon, there's utter devastation, with debris stacked up for hundreds of yards.
“This is our family property that we’ve had for years,” said Suzan Bond-Philpott, who still owns the property with her brother and vacations up here with her family.
She feels fortunate her family’s home is still standing.
“It’s right around the corner there,” Bond-Philpott said. “It made it through the fire and now it’s made it through the flood.”
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Some of her neighbors weren’t so lucky.
“It’s overwhelming. You can’t even imagine what it used to look like. I mean, we both knew what it used to look like,” she said as she choked up after surveying the damage with her brother, Dan. “It was a little dirt driveway, and now, it’s a huge rock, you know, a rock pile.”
The race to recover those three people still missing continues. It's a heartbreaking process for Bond-Philpott and all those who knew the family.
“We’ve hiked up here since I was 5 years old, and now the path is no longer there. It’s just sad. Of course, our hearts go out to the family.”
