Big Thompson Flash Flood of 1976 – Reflections of a Then 9-Year-Old

Colorado summers should be about fun and the outdoors. The summer of 1976, when I was nine (my brother 6,) saw Loveland as a base for rescue operations after the massive flash flood swept down the Big Thompson Canyon, killing 144.

There are so many stories about the '76 flood. I know of a story where a man had to watch is family be swept away in their station wagon and there was nothing he could do; one of his children perished. The story of Colorado State Trooper Willis Hugh Purdy and his final call to dispatch is haunting. That officer helped to save many people before being a victim, himself.

Young Loveland Boy Grows up to Be Local Radio Air Talent

There's nobody here at our radio stations that lived in the area back then. Though young, I remember the sense of fear and sorrow that the adults had. I remember the chinook helicopters flying over a friend of the family's house (they lived near the Kmart) on their way up the canyon, and being mesmerized.

A friend reminded me that the Olympics were going on during that time frame; he recalled he and his own brother "playing Olympics" in the yard on the day of the tragedy.

I remember having a bicentennial quarter in my hand that Sunday (the day after the flood;) in addition to the nation's 200th birthday, it was Colorado's 100th; many people were in town, and in the canyon, to celebrate it all. It was summer, after all.

READ MORE: Remembering Loveland's Old 'Merri-Lan' Amusement Park

There are many reference materials about the flood; I remember that a small magazine-like book was put out the following year, depicting the losses, Purdy's call, other rescues within the canyon. I could never do any of those reference materials justice; I'm just a radio disc jockey.

The 1976 Big Thompson Flood Memorial Is Sobering

I went to the Memorial along Highway 34 (by the Drake Fire Station) before the 50th anniversary of the flood. I stood there, looking at the 144 names of the victims: some as young as 2-years-old, taken much too soon; others, into their late 90s, who'd seen so much life, only to be killed by a natural disaster.

1976 Big Thomson Flood Memorial

Coming back from the memorial, I snapped a photo of the new water pipe that crosses the highway, remembering how the flood had taken out the 227,000-pound pipe that was once there.

Big Thompson Canyon Water Pipe

In 1976, we didn't have so many options, as we do today, for getting information. Bob Palmer ruled the TV news back then; here's a report from Bob and the team from the day after the flood: