I just got off of the phone with my dad, and it sounds like the recent snow storm that mostly hit Southeastern Colorado is being very under reported, at least in the Denver area.
He said they received 45″ of very heavy snow there, where drifts are regularly at 6′ and in places reach up to 14′. Quite a few roofs in the area have collapsed under the weight of the snow (including the Fire Department and Nursing Home), and he’s been spending most of his time digging people out since he’s one of a few people in the town with a front-end loader. Most people who live there keep a lot of food around, but there are at least 100 people stranded there at the moment who were en route on a group ski trip, and it’s been hard to keep them with supplies as nothing in that area really keeps enough stock on hand for events like that. It also sounds like various common animals in the area are starting to die (birds, rabbits, etc.) not to mention the livestock there.
The coverage by the Denver media is pretty shitty, but I did come across a few other sources which more accurately depict the situation down there including this article. The link may or may not work because of registration crap, so I’ve copied a good bit of text out of it:
Using helicopters, snowmobiles, tractors and whatever else they could lay their hands, rescuers on Monday opened roads and ferried supplies and feed to ranchers isolated by the blizzard that buried Southeastern Colorado.
“Everybody is looking for whatever resources are available,” said Polly White, public information officer with the state Division of Emergency Management.
“Yesterday (Sunday) and the day before, Colorado National Guard Blackhawks (helicopters) were out taking people literally off the road east and west on (U.S.) 160,” White said.
She said grocery stores in Springfield in Baca County were running out of food and the Guard would try to take in supplies via Humvees.
Residents of the sparsely populated Eastern Plains counties rushed to help their neighbors in the face of 10-foot-tall drifts of snow that closed highways and rural roads.
“We are doing all we can to help each other out here,” said Helen Emick, whose family runs a cattle ranch about 28 miles south of Lamar near the Baca County line.
Emick said the only way that people are able to travel in the area is by Caterpillar tractors.
From Rescue Teams Keep Busy – Pueblo Chieftain.
Some of the Denver media coverage:
- Effort to save cattle begins
- State fears agricultural disaster
- Baca County works to rescue stranded motorists
- Food, aid may come by chopper
My dad is supposed to send me some photos soon– I’ll post them when I get them.
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