September 13, 2013 -- Loveland 1000 Year Flood

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On the evening of September 12, 2013, the rain started in earnest in Loveland and it's sister city to the west, Estes Park. By the next morning, the dam in Estes was under stress, so a decision was made to start letting water out of the dam at Lake Estes. The rains continued and by Friday afternoon, September 13, the Big Thompson River and all of the tributaries including Buckhorn Creek were flooding. The river continued to flow through Loveland and flood levels for the next two weeks.

For the first week, the river cut the city in half, as all roads crossing the river were under the fast flowing water. The only way to go south was to take Highway 85 out east of Greeley. But, soon the flood waters reached Eastern Colorado and even that route was unavailable. I-25 was opened quickly and eventually Highway 287 so travel South was possible.

The following pictures were taken throughout various stages of the flood event.

• -- Early Pictures - The Start of the flood

• -- Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch and Hummingbird Lane

• -- 6 Weeks Later - Clean up At the Fairgrounds