(Photos courtesy of Stuart Jones, Golden, Colo.)

On Sept. 9, as storm clouds gathered over Boulder, Colo., and the rain began to fall, most folks were thankful for the precipitation. Record high temperatures for the area marked the early days of September, but relief quickly changed to disaster as several weather systems combined to produce one of the worst storms in recent history.

The torrential downpour persisted for five straight days, pouring more than 17 inches of rain, and causing floods in 17 counties. Nearly 2,000 homes and businesses sustained damaged or were destroyed, 200 miles of roads were washed away, and eight people are confirmed dead.

Estes Park, a small tourist town in Larimer County, sustained heavy damage in the deluge. Cheri Martin and her family have a home at McCain Park in Syracuse, but spend their winters in Estes Park.

“We haven’t seen much water damage around us, but we have severe damage to the sanitation system,” says Martin “It’ll probably be a year before everything’s back to normal.”

Martin also reported most of the buildings in Estes Park, though seriously damaged, were intact. Transportation in and out of the city is difficult as state highways 36 and 7 and U.S. 34 were severely damaged. Despite all this, the town has rallied and is already rebuilding.

“It’s been an amazing experience with the recovery,” says Martin. “Everyone has just dropped whatever they’re doing to help get this place back up and running.” Martin also reports that the annual Estes Park Elk Fest will still be held this week.

Dan and Marilyn Berkey, who live on East Waco Drive in Syracuse during the summers, suffered damaged to their home in Eldorado Springs, Colo.

“We live on South Boulder Creek,” says Marilyn Berkey. “Water went through our house and left quite a bit of mud.

The Berkey’s daughter and son-in-law, Jean and Mike Isrealson, also live in the affected area. The Isrealsons house was not damaged, but the yard was torn up.

The Berkeys and the Martins were among the luckier ones in this disaster. “There’s two or three towns that will be completely bull-dozed,” says Stuart Jones, a former Milford resident now living in Golden, Colo. “Some towns were reduced to bedrock.”

Currently rains have ceased, flood waters are receding, and citizens are beginning to clean up and rebuild. FEMA and the American Red Cross are on-hand assisting, but it will take many months and millions of dollars to repair all the damage.

For anyone wanting to assist with relief efforts visit, www.helpcoloradonow.org or www.redcross.org.