The summer of 1976, when I was nine (my brother 6,) saw Loveland as a base for rescue operations after the massive flash flood swept down the Big Thompson Canyon, killing 144. The 1976 Big Thompson Flood Memorial Is SoberingI went to the Memorial along Highway 34 (by the Drake Fire Station) before the 50th anniversary of the flood. TSM/Dave Jensen 1976 Big Thomson Flood MemorialComing back from the memorial, I snapped a photo of the new water pipe that crosses the highway, remembering how the flood had taken out the 227,000-pound pipe that was once there. TSM/Dave Jensen Big Thompson Canyon Water PipeIn 1976, we didn't have so many options, as we do today, for getting information. Bob Palmer ruled the TV news back then; here's a report from Bob and the team from the day after the flood:MORE PHOTOS OF THE 1976 BIG THOMPSON FLOOD The Big Thompson Flood of 1976 was one of the worst natural disasters in the history of Colorado.