Flash flood warning in effect for Glen Haven, Drake; rock slide affects U.S. Highway 34

Miles Blumhardt, Fort Collins Coloradoan
·2 min read

Editor's note: This story about a flash flood warning is free to read due to public safety concerns. You can support local news reporting by purchasing a digital subscription to the Coloradoan.

UPDATE, 4:33 p.m. Monday: While U.S. Highway 34 is open in both directions between Loveland and Estes Park, according to the Larimer County Sheriff's Office, Streamside Drive in the Drake area is closed at Larimer County Road 43.

ORIGINAL STORY: The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning at 2:23 p.m. Monday for an area around Glen Haven and Drake in the Big Thompson Canyon, where rainfall rates of 2.5 inches an hour were reported. The warning lasts until 5:30 p.m.

The Larimer County Sheriff's Office closed U.S. Highway 34 from Larimer County Road 29 in the Loveland area to Mall Road in Estes Park due to the dangerous flooding conditions, but it has since reopened in both directions.

The Colorado State Patrol told a Coloradoan reporter about 3:50 p.m. that the portion from Estes Park to Drake had been reopened, and the westbound portion reopened around 4:20.

The Colorado Department of Transportation reported that a rock slide was blocking the highway about two miles east of Drake.

Crews were working to clear the roadway, according to emergency radio channels.

Those in the warning area should leave the area or move to higher ground because flooding is ongoing and some roads will become impassible, the warning read.

A storm cell over the area has produced periodic surges of water in and around Glen Haven, including The Retreat and Storm Mountain areas as well as U.S. Highway 34.

Dangerous flooding was reported at 3 p.m. Monday by the Estes Park Emergency Communications Center, which urged people in the area to "immediately reach higher ground by any means necessary."

The weather service had earlier issued a flood watch for a large section of the Front Range, from the Wyoming state line to Colorado Springs, including the Cameron Peak and Calwood burn scars and northeastern portions ofthe East Troublesome burn scar, until midnight Monday.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Flash flood warning issued for Glen Haven, Drake area on Monday