house is flooding, right now

[WTF is dat]

I understand that I will need to get the big fans and cut out the drywall. And I am planning on hiring a reputable contractor... problem is that it is almost impossible to secure a fan for at least another day or 2. They are a scarce commodity right now.

my question is: is it safe to remain in the house the few days before I get the big fans and assess the mold situation? It seems pretty humid/dank in here, and I don't want to get sick?

[WTF is dat]

also the question about turning on the furnace was good. Would that help the situation? or maybe cause some other problems

[brice618]

Warmth and wetness is a great way to grow mold. You won't dry it out, just make it more humid. It needs some form of air movement and the best way to do that is to cut out the sheet rock and put a fan on it. You can cut the sheet rock yourself now with a skill saw and a chalk line pretty quick. It'll bring down the costs (I'm just sort of assuming Coloradoans don't have flood insurance, haven't read the whole thread) a bit, and allow the rest of the wall cavity to breath some, lessening the overall likelihood of mold spreading much.

[Cono Este]

I'd take the advice, and cut that drywall wide open, get some air in there.

[SB]

Reports of largest aerial evac since Katrina on going in Colo. Stay safe everyone.

[rmnpsplitter]

Hope you get your house situation fixed soon OP. I've heard a lot of comparisons of this flood to the 1976 Big Thompson Flood and in my opinion they aren't the same. It's pretty fucking crazy to have a storm wipe out every major east-west connector within 100 miles. Shit has not been seen before. Most areas experienced well over the 500 year event according to the maps and flood models which I'm very familiar with. Also, calling it the 100 or 500 year storm is not the current or accurate way of describing it. It's the 1% (100 yr) 0.2% (500 yr) annual chance storm, just to clarify. What also is really chilling, for this area at least, is that we never had durations of getting rainfall at even the 100 year intensity. It was a 3 day process for this to happen. The Big Thompson Flood came in one evening. Much harder to prepare for an event like that. The firefighters and first responders did a very good job of warning people in the canyons to get the fuck outa there. Problem is its pretty fucking hard to get people to leave their homes.

[hawkgt]

anyone hear how Pinecliffe faired throughout this event? hwy 72 closed for foreseeable future. South Boulder creek runs through there and some area that could see some good flooding.

[Timberridge]

Some aerial photos--just crazy...

http://photos.denverpost.com/2013/09...erial-views/#1

[hawkgt]

good link timberridge... not sure why but this pic cracks me up..... guess you have to find some humor out of this event.



I get the track hoe and that someone rushed to make a hill to save the machine but where the fuck the pig come from???

[gretch6364]

VIBS to everyone effected. The pictures of Big Thompson Canyon and US 34 are crazy. Anyone that lives along there has a really long recovery. How long is it going to take them to rebuild 34? I am guess a while. The snow will be piling up soon and hault any progress.

[mud]

CDOT reported anywhere from one to two months repairing Boulder, Lefthand, Big Thompson, St. Vrain, 34 up to Estes, and Four Mile Canyons.

[warthog]

Holy shitballs
http://videocenter.denverpost.com/se...=2671275786001

Is that the Salina video? I can't get it to open, but saw it on my phone.
My buddy used to live in the house across from the church in that video. Many a beer were drank on the porch after a nice MTB ride.
The house is gone. Survived the fires up 4 Mile a couple years ago, or maybe last year, and now gonzo.
So scary to think about all that water hauling down that steep ass road. Those are some lucky people.

[jamesp]

good link timberridge... not sure why but this pic cracks me up..... guess you have to find some humor out of this event.



I get the track hoe and that someone rushed to make a hill to save the machine but where the fuck the pig come from???

maybe the pig was drunk?

[Timberridge]

maybe the pig was drunk?

and AK Powder Monkey just left her there while he went for help?

[Timberridge]

Pics just posted on Big Picture.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/201...do_floods.html

[papapoopski]

Best of luck to those dealing with this.

To the insulation question, someone else suggested cutting 12" above the waterline and throwing that shit out. Def do this, gut that shit, throw it outside, open all the windows, get air in there. Once that semi-arid climate comes back to town you will dry out fine - fans and more fans, run them all day.

I dealt with this during hurricane irene. We lost every possession that we owned - house, cars, cloths, furniture, all of it.

I would be happy to offer my experiences with FEMA, insurance, remediation work, etc. Having gone through it I know what a daunting task it can be to try to get your life back to normal. PM me

[neufox47]

^^^ if any mags are a business owner dealing with ins I'd be happy to discuss.

[DasBlunt]

hundreds of people are staying in their homes up past RMNP, no road for months....they are even saying a year until a road is cleared and rebuilt.

National Guard flew in there yesterday with the Sheriff explaining how fucked they are if there is an emergency ( no road, no services). The forest service is saying they are closing the one dirt road, on private land, because it is" too dangerous", but it exists and passable. Sometimes the bureaucrats are retards. People have horses, livestock, shit to take care of.

[grrrr]

We are still evacuating people who are wanting to "wait it out". One 70 year old couple aren't going to have a road for two months...but have been refusing to leave because of the one mile walk. Think we may have to litter them out today.

[smmokan]

CDOT reported anywhere from one to two months repairing Boulder, Lefthand, Big Thompson, St. Vrain, 34 up to Estes, and Four Mile Canyons.

I'll believe it when I see it. Given that winter is in 1-2 months, I bet it's going to take 2-3x what CDOT is quoting.

Repairing 34 along the Big Thompson is going to take them years.

[mud]

I'll believe it when I see it. Given that winter is in 1-2 months, I bet it's going to take 2-3x what CDOT is quoting.

Repairing 34 along the Big Thompson is going to take them years.

Probably right, just reporting what I heard. Big Thompson and Four Mile are practically gone,
Still waiting to hear back from friends in Salina, St Vrain, and Big Thompson, houses are gone and no one has seen them yet.

[hawkgt]

^^^ shit mud... hope you hear from them soon. my buddy just north of Black Hawk finally checked in after the weekend. Did not get anywhere near the rain, no flooding, and minimal wash out but lost power for a bit. I did not think he was in real danger but still good to hear from him.

[skajah]

This is just fucking mind blowing. I can't fathom what you guys must be going through. Best of luck to all you front rangers.

Sent from my goddamn phone cuz I'm sitting by my fire.