Fires, Floods, Snow extremes
Breaking news about Wild Land Fires & Floods and snow storms in the Boulder, Colorado area.
Mountain residents urged to review insurance policies
Jul 16th
Boulder County and Foothills United Way to host two free insurance workshops
Boulder County, Colo. – Recent fires all along the Front Range have served as catastrophic reminders of the need for foothills and mountain dwellers to make sure they are adequately insured before disaster strikes.
Now is a critical time for mountain residents to check their insurance policies and ensure their homes are adequately covered and to take some easy steps to prepare for any disaster.
Foothills United Way and Boulder County are holding two free educational workshops to help residents make sure they are properly insured and to learn how to be prepared for any natural disaster:
- Nederland – Monday, July 23, 7-8:30 p.m.
Nederland Community Center, 750 Highway 72
- Boulder – Tuesday, July 24, 6:30-8 p.m.
Commissioners’ Hearing Room, Boulder County Courthouse, third floor, 1325 Pearl St.
The workshops will cover several topics, including:
- Lessons learned from Fourmile Canyon Fire Survivors
- Tips from United Policyholders’ ‘Roadmap to Preparedness’ Program (www.uphelp.org)
- How to ensure your insurance policy accurately reflects the real cost of rebuilding in the mountains west of Boulder
- Practical ways your family can be prepared in the case of a natural disaster
Often, the cost to rebuild, especially in the mountains, exceeds the amount of coverage policyholders carry for their homes and other property. Adding to this problem is the homeowner’s lack of awareness that the policies they carry are inadequate.
“One of the hard lessons of the Fourmile Canyon Fire was that more than 60 percent of property owners were underinsured,” said Garry Sanfaçon, Boulder County’s Fourmile Fire Recovery Manager. “These workshops will give people the tools they need to make sure they are adequately covered.”
Rain closes Lefthand Boulder creek rising #boulderflood
Jul 7th
It is raining Boulder. As of 8:00pm the following are the only incidents that the city or county are working. The city recommends you go to the OEM website. OEM does not have a feed with updates. We suggest listening to sheriffs office scanner. If things get bad later tonight we will broadcast all scanner emergency traffic here, call dispatch and command and report for you
July 7 – 5:40 p.m. – Lefthand Canyon Drive closed
Lefthand Canyon Drive is closed between Olde Stage Road and James Canyon Drive. Debris flows caused by the thunderstorm have impacted some roads mountain roads in western Boulder County.
July 7 – 5:20 p.m. – Boulder Creek flows expected to increase
With the heavy rainfall this afternoon, the City of Boulder is expecting to see an increase in Boulder Creek water levels. Last night, the creek was running at 161 cfs. It is currently at 287 cfs and is likely to run between 500 and 600 cfs by nightfall. This is not expected to cause significant spillage along the banks, but pedestrians and cyclists in the area are urged to use caution. Please remember that it is not safe to seek shelter under bridges or in other underpasses. These are designed to move floodwaters through and can be very dangerous in these conditions.
July 7 – 5:40 p.m. – Lefthand Canyon Drive closed
Lefthand Canyon Drive is closed between Olde Stage Road and James Canyon Drive. Debris flows caused by the thunderstorm have impacted some roads mountain roads in western Boulder County.
July 7 – 5:20 p.m. – Boulder Creek flows expected to increase
With the heavy rainfall this afternoon, the City of Boulder is expecting to see an increase in Boulder Creek water levels. Last night, the creek was running at 161 cfs. It is currently at 287 cfs and is likely to run between 500 and 600 cfs by nightfall. This is not expected to cause significant spillage along the banks, but pedestrians and cyclists in the area are urged to use caution. Please remember that it is not safe to seek shelter under bridges or in other underpasses. These are designed to move floodwaters through and can be very dangerous in these conditions.
The city is also receiving some reports of nuisance street flooding in the Table Mesa area and a few other neighborhoods. Safety officials would like to remind motorists to avoid driving through floodwaters, which can be deeper than they may seem.
Bear Canyon Trail re-opens; other Flagstaff Fire closures remain
Jul 7th
City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks officials today announced the re-opening of the Bear Canyon Trail following last week’s fire closure. Bear Canyon Trail above west of the Mesa Trail will be open, effective immediately, up to where hikers can connect to Green Mountain via the Green-Bear Trail. Travel is limited to on-trail only. Fern Canyon, Bear Peak West Ridge and Shadow Canyon trails remain closed.
Because much of the area that burned is on very steep slopes, contained very large trees, and was largely inaccessible to fire crews, some areas of active fire may continue to smolder for some time. Dangerous conditions continue to exist, especially along the eastern edge of the fire and in Fern and Shadow canyons.
“We had a spot fire in upper Shadow Canyon,” Stone said, “and smoldering trees can topple over and ignite at any time. Burning logs and debris can roll downhill on such steep slopes and start new fires. So we still have to be somewhat cautious about opening all of the area around the fire even though these areas may not actually have burned.”
Open Space and Fire Department staff will continue to assess the fire potential and risks to the public over the next few weeks. The city will strive to strike a reasonable balance between risk and access to these popular natural areas.
A map of the continued closures is attached to this release.
For information, visit www.osmp.org or call 303-441-3440.
