Flooding Issues Hit Fort Collins, CSU Shuts Down
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) - Authorities in Larimer County are battling rising waters and have evacuations in place in many areas including the cities of Loveland and Fort Collins.
All the roads running north and south through Loveland have been closed and making travel nearly impossible.
Interstate 25 is closed from Fort Collins all the way to Wyoming. Friday evening The Colorado Department of Transportation reopened both directions of I-25 in northern Colorado south of Harmony Road.
Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith said there are three major intersections in Loveland that are cutting the city off. All around Larimer County there are 10 separate sections where people are stranded.
A Type 2 incident team has been ordered to Larimer County. It's the same team that worked the wildfires last year.
All of the dams on the Big Thompson River, Horsetooth Reservoir and the Olympus Dam in Estes Park are intact.
Several homes were destroyed when a wall of water came through the Big Thompson canyon. It's not known how many people were able to get out of the area. Two county bridges were damaged.
Most of the 17-mile stretch of the Big Thompson canyon is devastated.
"We know there are a lot, hundreds, if not thousands of people back up in there who can't get out and may be running short on food and fuel and everything else," Smith said. "Right now we have to get the medicals out, we have to get the injured people out. We are trying to get more aviation assets. I personally can't imagine the scope of what this is going to be for aviation assets to get in and reach people. Right now I'm a little overwhelmed by what I saw."
Colorado State University was closed Friday. CSU's football game against Cal Poly is still to be played as scheduled.
Poudre Canyon is mostly intact and the roads are clear.
Colorado Floods: How To Help
The recent floods are impacting families and communities throughout Colorado, so CBS4 has compiled a list of ways you can support the local communities impacted by the floods.
