Hail, rain damage homes, cars, gardens in the foothills

BY DEB HURLEY BROBST DBROBST@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

People are assessing the damage to their homes, vehicles and gardens after a massive storm moved through metro Denver overnight on June 21, bringing golf ball-sized hail and downpours to some areas while other areas stayed dry.

e storm came on the rst day of summer, and the National Weather Service predicted similar storms on June 22. ose on Facebook say hail ranged from pebbles to golf ball size.

Red Rocks Amphitheatre received so much rain and hail during a concert that more than 100 people were injured with seven taken to the hospital with broken bones and other non-life-threatening injuries, according to Ronda Scholting, spokeswoman for West Metro Fire.

Bear Mountain Vista in Evergreen received nearly an inch of rain.

Video footage and photos of the storm’s aftermath show the damage, and Facebook posts in Evergreen and Conifer talked about broken car windows, dented vehicles, shattered skylights, downed trees, broken outdoor furniture, and decimated owers and gardens.

Some Facebook posts said the good news was that it smelled like Christmas and pine trees, and others asked about reliable roofers and carrepair shops.

Colorado is known as “hail alley” because of storms that move through the area, especially in the summer. e costliest storm to date was on May 8, 2017, that resulted in $2.3 billion in hail-related insurance claims, according to Carole Walker with the Rocky Mountain Insurance Agency.

Walker said while some areas received extensive hail and rain damage on June 21, she didn’t believe the storm caused what the insurance industry calls “catastrophic damage,” which generally includes insurance

After Refacing claims topping $25 million.

“With this storm, we are still in wait-and-see mode,” Walker said.

“When hail storms take place overnight, it generally takes more time for people to nd some of the damage and le insurance claims.”

Bear Creek, which runs through Evergreen to Bear Creek Lake Park in Lakewood, is seeing unusually high ows, according to Dave Lighthart, general manager of the Evergreen Metro District. Just west of Evergreen Lake, ows early in the afternoon on June 22 were at 257 cubic feet per second, with a high at 2 a.m. June 22 of 352 cfs. In Morrison, water ow was 473 cfs on June 22, with a high of 621 cfs at 5 a.m.

Lighthart said that water ows in Bear Creek have been averaging about 100 cfs recently due to the rain in May and June, and in an average year, the water ow is 70 cfs near Evergreen Lake and 80 cfs in Morrison.

Other issues

e Evergreen Park & Recreation District was still assessing the damage on ursday morning as workers cleared parking lots of leaves and other debris brought by the storm.

“We have parking lots that were washed out, and some of our sta lost windows in their cars,” said Cory Vander Veen, the rec district’s executive director. He did not know whether buildings had been damaged by the hail.

While Evergreen Fire/Rescue did not respond to any emergency calls thanks to the storm, the department lost skylights in two of its stations, according to Fire Chief Mike Weege.

Grace Hills Community Church in Indian Hills sustained some cracked windows thanks to the hail, according to Pastor Marcus Mackey.

Interstate 70 in Genesee was difcult to navigate during the storm on June 21 because of the hail and pouring rain, and cars stopped on the highway and along the shoulders because visibility was poor.

Insurance claims

Insurance agents say homeowners should determine whether they have a claim, and if so, they should contact their insurance company immediately. In the meantime – especially with so many car repair shops and roofers being short-sta and busy –start contacting someone to nd out when they might be available to do the work. ey suggest that it’s best if the roofer can meet with the insurance adjuster.

For those needing roo ng work done, the Colorado legislature adopted a law in 2012 that requires a signed contract between the property owner and the roofer; that the roo ng contractor cannot o er to pay the homeowner’s deductible or rebate that money; if the homeowner voids the contract, the roofer must return the deposit; and the roo ng contractor can’t claim to be an insurance adjuster.

“With the erratic, volatile weather recently, people can’t count on a hailstorm on a certain day of the month or a certain time of day,” Walker said. “People just need to be prepared.”