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Page 4
The storm abated about 2 a.m., though rain continued on into the next day. When a soggy daylight came, the devastation was heartbreaking. In many areas, the highway was gone, Most of the water had raged through, leaving a layer of silt deep enough to completely bury cars and other debris and people. Search and rescue began immediately. In the end, the toll was high: 144 dead, more than 500 injured, 252 homes and 16 businesses totally destroyed, 182 homes and 26 businesses damaged. The eventual cost was estimated at more than $41 million dollars.
If you are thinking by now that you wouldn't want to spend any time in the Big Thompson Canyon, let me reassure you. When the new road was built, it was raised above the river so that it is improved and much safer. With the weather report improvements I mentioned before, you can safely travel the canyon, fish in the lovely little river that flows through it, and maybe even listen to the beautiful song of a dipper as it flies up and down through the Narrows. Here is a photo I took there just last week. You can barely see a fisherman in the water on the left side of the river.
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