The Mesa County Sheriff has released video of the mudslide taken from a helicopter, and the news conference in which the Sheriff explains the situation and about the missing men. The first video listed below shows (@2:55) a well pad and tanks at the edge of the slide. This area will be volatile and dangerous for a long time. Water is building up within the slide area, further saturating the soil so it will probably continue to flow into the valley. The site is about 2-3 miles from Vega Reservoir.

I've done wildlife and vegetation transects in that area. The north slope of the Grand Mesa is one of the most beautiful areas in the state with lush pastures fingering into forests of spruce, fir and aspen groves. I've thought it would be a fine place to build a home in retirement.

The men were investigating the interruption of water from an irrigation ditch. It's unlikely that any search for them will continue due to the danger and the futility. Imagine being caught in an avalanche of falling trees as the ground slips away, the mountain engulfs and buries everything. Looking at the massive slide I can't help but think of all the wildlife that was surely lost, too. Deer, elk, moose, and breeding birds by the thousands.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA-FAgp21Ds (video)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-elnk7IUiKg (video)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDFCEu3i7LM (video)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gTU4F040gE (video)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St4RRdWDJwU (Sheriff's News Conference, part 1)



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5KzhHaQtuI (Sheriff's News Conference, part 2)


This slide is a little like the Twin Sisters Peak slide (south of Estes) but much larger.