Roughly 50 homes saw damage, with for half of those being considered major to moderate damage.
The Yampa Valley Community Foundation has launched a fund to accept charitable donations to support Hayden residents recover from significant flooding in town this spring that left about 25 homes with major to moderate damage.
The Hayden Flood Relief Fund will be available to households at 160% the area median income and will be administered through the town, which will work to prioritize repairs, assess financial need and refer residents to any other available resources.
“Over one month later we still have residences that have not fixed things because they can’t afford the full extent of the damage,” said Hayden Town Manager Mathew Mendisco in a release. “As a result, people may be living in unsafe residences and now may be getting health issues from mold.”
Repairs that have been identified in Hayden include mold mitigation, replacing drywall insulation and flooring, replacing appliances like hot water heaters and furnaces and cleaning up hazardous waste caused by flooding.
Much of the area impacted by flooding are not considered within a flood zone, so very few residents had any flood insurance. There isn’t much government assistance available for flood recovery in Hayden either, as the state of Colorado declined to declare a state of emergency and emergency funds held by Hayden will be consumed by damage to town property.
“As we directly experienced during the COVID pandemic and have seen in other communities after catastrophic wildfires and other events, charitable funds held at community foundations can greatly assist community recover from emergency situations,” the Community Foundation wrote in the release. “Contributions of any size are welcome and will alleviate the impact of floodwaters for our Hayden community.”
Donations can be made through the YVCF website here. The community foundation is waiving all fees for this fund to ensure 100% of donations go to support Hayden residents.
Top Photo Caption: Dry Creek flooded in April, filling Hayden streets with water. (Katie Berning/Courtesy)