RUSTIC, Colo. – A woman was found dead and three other people were missing in an area of northern Colorado burned by a large wildfire last year, authorities said Wednesday.
The woman’s body was found near the small community of Rustic, about 100 miles northwest of Denver, after a mudslide sent a large amount of debris into a scenic, winding canyon Tuesday evening, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office said.
Her identity and cause of death will be released by the coroner’s office at a later time. Search operations are set to resume Thursday.
About an inch of rain fell on the Crown Point area in a short period of time Tuesday, Larimer County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Joe Shellhammer told the Coloradoan, part of the USA TODAY Network. That rain drained into the Black Hollow area and created a debris dam that burst, causing flash flooding and mudslides.
Around six mudslides happened as a result of flooding, a Colorado Department of Transportation spokesperson said. At least five houses were totaled and a private bridge was damaged.
A long debris field was left behind along the river, including propane tanks, stove pipes, lawn chairs, dishes, garden hoses and an American flag.
The area burned last year in the 326-square-mile Cameron Peak Fire, which likely contributed to the flooding and mudslides, sheriff’s spokesman Jered Kramer said. Fires torch vegetation that usually helps absorb rain, making those areas more vulnerable to flooding, especially in steep sections. The soil in burned areas can also repel rain.
Heavy rain over the Cameron Peak Fire burn area has stopped and “flooding is no longer expected to pose a threat,” according to National Weather Service.
As of Wednesday afternoon, at least five houses in the canyon’s Black Hollow area were totaled, including Joyce Sjogren’s cabin along Black Hollow Road. Sjogren purchased the property with her husband in 1972 and replaced its existing mobile home with a cabin in the 1980s, she said.
“We liked it (up there) so much and we were both retiring,” Sjogren said.
Wednesday, Sjogren got a call from her neighbor following Tuesday’s devastating flood, which is being called the “Black Hollow Flood” by county emergency officials.
“He was safe, but (my cabin) right next door is on a slope from Black Hollow Creek and the water came down and took my cabin clear away,” Sjogren said.
At this point, Sjogren said she is unsure if she and her husband will rebuild on the site.
“It’s very sad for me and my family who enjoyed it until right now,” she said.
Contributing: The Associated Press.
