From the Boulder Daily Camera (Amy Bounds) via the Longmont Times-Call:
“The house was fine, but everything around it was washed away,” [Kevin Grady] said as he looked over a creek bed that once was Geer Canyon Road — the road used to access the trailhead. “It was insane.”
Geer Creek, he added, is typically “dry as a bone” by this time in November, but it’s still running thanks to the over saturated ground. One of the road’s two culverts also now is in the middle of the creek, while the other was washed far downstream. Multiple areas were either scoured out by the raging water or filled up with rocks swept downstream.
Grady spoke to open space advisory board members and area residents who took a tour today of some of the county properties damaged by September’s floods that haven’t been reopened to the public. The tour, led by county Parks and Open Space Department director Ron Stewart, included Heil Valley Ranch, county open space areas east of Lyons along the St. Vrain River and Pella Crossing…
Stewart said the flooding caused an estimated $2.5 million in damage to Boulder County open space trails, restrooms, kiosks and parking lot. But, he said, the overall estimate to repair damage on Boulder County open space land is $50 million, with the most extensive damage at lakes and ponds — particularly reservoirs along or near the St. Vrain River corridor. On county open space along the St. Vrain River, one side of the river near the Cemex plant is largely untouched with a thicket of bushes and trees that form a riparian area. The other side looks like a beach, with a layer of sand and only a single bush and some stumps left. A dry bed of rocks shows the river’s former path, with a new path nearby that’s about six feet lower and going in a new direction. The roof and upper section of a house, an upended RV, a grill, a ladder and a vacuum cleaner are scattered through the area. The flooding also caused breeches in lakes and ponds in more than dozen areas on county open space, creating big lakes out of individual ponds and wreaking havoc with irrigation ditches…
Stewart said decisions are expected soon on a timeline for repairs and reopening areas to the public. One issue, he said, is funding. The county doesn’t have the money to start all the projects while waiting for federal and state reimbursements for flood-recovery work. Another is the finding the manpower to make repairs, given the extent of the damage.