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View from the drained lake bed of in Boulder County, Colorado (Tangen photo #3926)

View from the drained lake bed in Boulder County, Colorado (Tangen photo #3927)

Views of flooding at Barker Dam in Nederland, and in Boulder Canyon.

This folder contains newspaper clippings about floods and flood control in Boulder County. The clippings were compiled by the Reference Staff at the Boulder Public Library.

This folder contains newspaper clippings about floods and flood control in Boulder County. The clippings were compiled by the Reference Staff at the Boulder Public Library.

This folder contains newspaper clippings about floods and flood control in Boulder County. The clippings were compiled by the Reference Staff at the Boulder Public Library.

Farrell Lowe, who was living in Pinebrook Hills at the time of the 2013 flood in Boulder County, was instrumental in helping with the rescue of Dan Frisby who was trapped after his house was collapsed by a mud-and-rockslide. In this interview, Farrell, who is a musician, first discusses his background of growing up on a farm in southern Indiana, including rural life, the roots of his interest in music, and severe weather events he experienced in the Midwest. He continues by describing his move to Boulder and the Boulder music scene of the 1980s. The last third of the interview is a dramatic account of the Boulder County flood, the destruction in Pinebrook Hills, the rescue by Farrell and other neighbors, and their subsequent self-evacuation.

Kay Cook and Doug Burger relate their experiences during the 2013 Boulder flood. Kay and Doug were living in the small mountain community of Salina, Colorado, at the time. They describe the way their experience of the flood unfolded as cars, houses and all their possessions washed away. They describe the way they had to evacuate multiple times to move to safer ground, including a challenging rescue by zip line across the raging creek waters. They discuss the losses they faced, the beauty and power of the flood, and the power of community support, which they felt throughout from both strangers and friends.

Tara Schoedinger, mayor of Jamestown, describes the flooding of the town during the September 2013 floods and the community's efforts at recovery. This interview was recorded less than a month after the catastrophic flooding, which destroyed many houses and roads and took the life of one of the town's residents, Joseph Howlett, when his house collapsed due to a mudslide. Mayor Schoedinger details calling in emergency services; establishment of incident command posts; the evacuation of residents to higher ground and then out of the area by military helicopters; assistance provided by county, state and federal entities, as well as cleanup help provided by Southern Baptist volunteers. She stresses the close-knit nature of the Jamestown community and talks about the ways in which people pulled together.

Mark Wischmeyer recalls Wednesday night, September 11, 2013, as a volunteer firefighter in EMS. The river was so deep, Jamestown was cut in half - both bridges were washed out, and all they had were fire radios to communicate. They were trapped for three days, and they kept thinking that the rain was going to stop, but it didn't. He talks about the evacuation, the help coming from all over the country, and how the flood brought neighbors together. He also talks about mold and flood insurance.