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Hickenlooper Gets First Look At Destruction In Jamestown

JAMESTOWN, Colo. (CBS4) - Gov. John Hickenlooper got a progress check on the flood relief efforts on Friday. He toured the damage in some of the hardest hit areas.

One stop was in Jamestown in Boulder County. Hickenlooper seemed genuinely shocked at how bad town looked.

Two full weeks after the flood the cleanup in Jamestown is just beginning.

"To this point we haven't really been able to get into town, so this is my first chance to come back in with my parents," a resident said.

On Friday what they found is a mess. Houses are off their foundations, buried in debris, and roads washed away.

"The mud is 3 to 4 feet high through the entire house," the resident said.

"I've never seen anything like this," Hickenlooper said.

The sights of Jamestown were shocking to even the governor who has spent much of the last two weeks touring one flood zone after another.

"It makes you want to cry just to see one story after another of people whose whole lives got swept away in 72 hours," Hickenlooper said.

Jamestown Mayor Tara Schoedinger still cries when she talks about the town she loves.

"Having people displaced outside of our community is just a huge loss," she said.

Now that they've been allowed back, there are the predictable pledges to rebuild. But beneath the bravado there are worries beyond replacing structures.

"The fear is the community will never be the same, that something of this nature will scare enough people off that they won't return," another Jamestown resident said.

The town isn't waiting for government help as citizens have launched RebuildJamestown.org to try and help themselves.

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.

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