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Major Sandbagging Effort Underway In Greeley

GREELEY, Colo. (CBS4) - There hasn't been a sandbagging effort quite like the one Friday and Saturday in Greeley this since the floods last September. Now there are scenes like it in every town in Northern Colorado with a river.

A manic storm cell took over the sky and put Greeley in the dark on Friday and put more than an inch of rain in an hour. It elevated fears where flooded rivers will continue to rise.

Sandbags
(credit: CBS)

"If it rains in the canyon today, then two or three days we will get it down here," said Ray Tschillard, Director of the Poudre Learning Center.

Tschillard hoped for recovery but says Friday's rain will make the runoff worse.

"Our fear is that we will get a huge rain event and get a huge melting event with the high temperatures and be a big plug of water will come," he said.

Rivers are already full with destructive power. Families remember last September and are trying to fortify homes.

"We live right on a corner, so it all comes down on us," a Greeley woman said.

Crews will continue to sandbag throughout the weekend but the most intense efforts focused on the areas where rivers are already past flood stage.

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