Missouri Task Force 1 returning home

Colorado is moving into clean up mode and dozens of local search and rescue crews are now on their way back to Columbia.

Missouri Task Force 1 has been deployed to the flood zone in Colorado for one week.

Doug Westhoff with the task force told ABC 17 News the crews made hundreds of rescues and were able to help the affected areas begin the process of cleaning up and rebuilding.

The crews will be staying in Kansas overnight before they return Monday.

Some people are still unaccounted for and hundreds of homes have been destroyed.

Some local crews have been in Larimer County, Colo., helping rescue crews evacuate the victims.

Westhoff said the team is satisfied with what they accomplished while they were there.

“When we left this morning, the briefing had 29 people on the missing persons list. When we rolled in there it was 200 plus,” he said.

The teams were able to document the damage to hundreds of homes and countless lives.

Westhoff said it was a unique experience and described the water’s impact as incredible.

He said damage from the flooding is more extensive than the biggest wildfire Colorado had earlier this year.

He also said the work Task Force 1 did should help shorten the clean up tine.

“It’s going to take a long time for those folks to rebuild, but I think with the work that we did, we’re going to have an impact on that,” Westhoff said.