FLOODING RAVAGES FRONT RANGE
LYONS, Colo. (AP) – This is what Associated Press reporters on the scene Friday are learning about unfolding events:
1:56 p.m. MDT
The football game between Fresno State and Colorado is being postponed because of the flooding devastating the state. Chancellor Philip DiStefano said the community is hurting and it’s not a good time to put pressure on the community and divert attention away from people in need.
1:32 p.m. MDT
The National Park Service says a pair of hikers made it down Longs Peak, one of Colorado’s highest points, on their own after being stranded by an ice storm for two days. The news came just as the Park Service was organizing its latest effort to rescue the women.
12:30 p.m. MDT
Rocky Mountain National Park is closed and officials are escorting remaining visitors out of the park. Officials say they’re working to mount rescue efforts for two hikers reported missing on Longs Peak, a 14,259-foot mountain there. Trail Ridge Road through the park, the highest continuous paved road in the United States, remains open to emergency vehicles and residents evacuating from the town of Estes Park.
11:56 a.m. MDT
Flooding has closed Interstate 25 from north of Denver to Cheyenne, a 90-mile stretch. Three major rivers – Big Thompson, St. Vrain, and Poudre – normally flow under the highway in northern Colorado, but flood waters have pushed over the top of the roadway in some locations.
11:22 a.m. MDT
Officials at the University of Colorado are discussing whether the football game between Fresno State and Colorado will be played Saturday or pushed back because of flooding.
11:01 a.m. MDT
Helicopters are flying in Boulder and Larimer counties to reach stranded people and drop supplies. Low visibility had grounded them Thursday.
10:49 a.m. MDT
Blue skies are peeking through clouds over the Front Range, but more rain is expected in the afternoon.
10:10 a.m. MDT
An elderly man who was walking his dog was rescued from a Denver drainage ditch after being swept away by rushing water. Denver Fire Department spokesman Mark Watson said witnesses saw the man and dog fall into the water, and called for help. He was pulled from the water four blocks away, but his condition wasn’t immediately available.
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6:31 a.m. MDT
Authorities went door-to-door in Morrison, south of the historic Red Rocks Amphitheater, asking hundreds of people to evacuate as Bear Creek neared flood stage. The amphitheater was in no immediate danger.
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2 a.m. MDT
Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner tours the flood damage, and says Boulder Creek has begun to recede but conditions remain dangerous.
VAIL (AP) – The new Adventure Ridge 1,200-foot zipline on Vail Mountain is closed because of mechanical problems. Vail Mountain spokeswoman Sara Lococo says there are problems with the zipline’s trolleys and gear system. The Vail Daily reports officials are not sure if it will reopen before the end of the fall season.
BOSTON (AP) – The highest court in Massachusetts has upheld an $18 million punitive damages award to the family of a Colorado woman who died after hitting her head on a concrete pool deck when an inflatable slide partially collapsed. A jury awarded Robin Aleo’s family a total of $20.6 million, finding that the slide sold by Toys R Us did not comply with federal safety standards. The Louisville woman was visiting relatives at the time.
