Worst Storm In Century Batters Colorado's Front Range

March 20, 2003
By JUDITH KOHLER

DENVER (AP) - Colorado's worst blizzard in a century shut down metropolitan Denver and other Front Range cities for a second day and closed one of the nation's busiest airports, stranding thousands of passengers and ripping the terminal's tent-like roof. Even letter carriers stayed home.

The storm dumped up to 6 feet of wet, heavy snow in the mountains paralyzing a large swath of Colorado and Wyoming that is home to more than 3.5 million people. It forced officials to close parts of Interstates 70, 80 and 25, and National Guard troops were sent to rescue stranded motorists.

The storm, which lumbered into Colorado with rain turning to snow Monday and Tuesday, was heading slowly east. A blizzard warning remained in effect from the Colorado-Wyoming line to New Mexico.

The snow was blamed for at least two traffic deaths, one in Wyoming and one in Colorado. In the Denver suburb of Aurora, the body of a 65-year-old man was found in a truck in his driveway early Wednesday and a 56-year-old man who had just shoveled snow was found dead in his garage. The cause of death in both cases was unknown.

Interstate 70 remained closed from the Rockies almost to the Kansas line, and from Frisco to just west of Denver. In Wyoming, Interstates 25 and 80 remained closed, isolating Cheyenne and other communities. Travelers filled up motels along the closed interstates, and hundreds of truck drivers slept in their rigs.

Stacy Lester, of Sioux City, Ia., was among about 200 passengers stranded at the Greyhound bus station in downtown Denver since Tuesday morning. She said she missed a court appearance related to child support in San Jose, Calif

''I'm seven months pregnant with no money,'' Lester said.

Others passengers complained they had little to eat and couldn't afford the prices at a store in the bus station. Greyhound spokeswoman Kim Plaskitt said the bus company provided the travelers three meals a day.

One route to Wyoming reopened Wednesday night when the Department of Transportation allowed traffic again on U.S. 287 north of Fort Collins to the state line.

Around the region, gusts whipped snow into drifts that blocked streets and driveways, turning abandoned cars and trucks into marshmallowy mounds.

The Colorado National Guard sent 21 Humvees to rescue stranded motorists. Maj. Kevin Ellson said guard members rescued at least 100 people from trucks and cars on I-70 east of Denver, in the metro area and on the eastern plains, where an elderly woman was having chest pains.

Kathy Ewing huddled with her 8-year-old granddaughter, Raynesha, in an emergency shelter in the gym at East High School in downtown Denver on Wednesday night after being rescued by National Guard members from a blacked-out apartment in public housing.

Ewing, 50, said the apartment's electricity went out in the afternoon, idling the fan that circulates warm air from her gas heater. Unable to get out through snow piled up to the knob of the front door, she phoned for help.

''We were worried about freezing,'' Ewing said.

Denver security manager Keith Moore waited two hours for a bus that never showed up, finally catching a ride with a snowplow driver.

''It was great,'' Moore said. ''I got to smoke and everything.''

Xcel Energy crews worked to restore electricity to about 25,000 people statewide, including about 5,000 in Denver.

The heavy, thick snow also caused roofs to collapse on at least 100 homes and businesses, said Kelly Caldwell, Denver Fire Department division chief of operations. A man's leg was broken when part of his apartment collapsed after the roof of the nightclub next door caved in. No other injuries were reported.

Both states needed the moisture after months of drought conditions.

Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., was stranded near the Denver airport but found the storm's silver lining: ''We've had such a terrible drought, and this will help with our water situation.''

Denver has received 29.5 inches of snow since Monday, the largest amount since December 1913 when 45.7 inches fell, according to the National Weather Service. Some of its suburbs recorded higher amounts, including 35 inches in Lakewood and 40 inches in Aurora.

In the mountains west of Denver, wind swept 6-foot snow accumulations into 8-foot drifts. The American Red Cross turned four public buildings into shelters for 350 motorists in Idaho Springs, 35 miles west of Denver.

Almost 1 1/2 feet of wet, heavy flakes fell Wednesday at Denver International Airport and drifted to 4 feet, ripping the facility's fabric roof and forcing it to remain closed.

About 3,700 travelers who spent the night sleeping on the floor, couches and cots were moved to a separate concourse as a precaution after a tear several hundred feet long was discovered in the Teflon-coated, Fiberglas roof of the main terminal. Officials reopened the terminal later Wednesday after the company that manufactured the roof material inspected the tear and determined it was safe.

''This is a record-breaking storm that now is a roof breaker,'' said assistant airport manager Amy Bourgeron.

Among the travelers stuck there was the University of Vermont men's basketball team, headed to Salt Lake City for its first-ever NCAA tournament. They were slated to play Arizona on Thursday.

The storm forced the University of Colorado men's basketball team to change its travel plans to get to the NCAA tournament in Tampa, Fla., where they will play Michigan State. The Buffaloes planned to take a bus Thursday.

The storm brought back memories of the December 1982 blizzard, which dropped 2 feet of snow on Denver in 24 hours, making major streets impassable for several days.

The Colorado Legislature canceled its session Wednesday, and most other government offices and businesses - including post offices - were closed.

At least 200 people were stranded at the Greyhound bus station in downtown Denver. The roof collapsed on a downtown nightclub and a 25,000-square-foot warehouse in northeast Denver, the Fire Department said. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

An avalanche that closed a road to the Eldora ski area northwest of Denver stranded at least 250 skiers, who took shelter at a nearby restaurant.

At Winter Park, 12 of the 19 main lifts had to stay closed, and employees were running ragged trying to keep the parking lots and walkways clear, spokeswoman Joan Christensen said.

''I never knew there was this much snow in the world,'' Christensen said. ''There's so much snow they even have to remove it from the lift lines.''

On the Net:
Weather warnings: http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/nationalwarnings.html

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