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Two San Luis Valley water leaders killed when snow slides off of roof - The Denver Post
Two San Luis Valley water leaders killed when snow slides off of roof....
Updated: 03/22/2010 04:45:56 PM MDT
Two San Luis Valley water leaders were killed in a freak accident when snow slid off the roof of a cabin near Creede and buried them.
Ray Wright, board president for the Rio Grande Water Conservation District, and Doug Shriver, chairman of the Rio Grande Water Users Association, died Friday after being smothered by the falling snow, said Mineral County coroner Charles Downing.
"The snow slid off . . . all at once and caught them," Downing said, describing the incident as avalanche deaths.
The two were apparently cleaning snow from the roof and around the cabin when the slide occurred, Downing said. Autopsies are scheduled for Monday.
Wright and Shriver, both from Monte Vista, headed to the cabin located "up the river from Creede" in the San Juan Mountains about 8:30 or 9 Friday morning, Downing said. When they didn't return by evening, their concerned wives asked a friend to check on them, Downing said. Unable to see much at the cabin, the friend called the sheriff. A local search-and-rescue team was then dispatched.
"I believe they actually found them somewhere between 9:30 (p.m.) and 10 (p.m.)," Downing said. He pronounced the two dead at 11:53 p.m. Friday.
Heavy snowfall in recent months likely contributed to the accident, Downing said, with totals in the area nearing 50 inches. He estimated the cabin roof held 2.5 feet of snow.
Lewis H. Entz served with Wright on the Rio Grande Water Conservation District board. He's known both Wright and Shriver their whole lives, he said, and calls them "water buffaloes," a nickname for those who work to protect the state's water.
"They were good neighbors, good farmers and good water people," Entz said. "As far as I know, nobody ever had anything but good to say about them."
Entz heard about the deaths in an e-mail on Saturday morning, he said, and word of the tragedy spread quickly through the area.
"We're all in a daze here," Entz said.
Wright, 56,and Shriver, 53, had ties to many in the Colorado water-rights community.
"Both of them were real water leaders in the San Luis Valley," said Douglas Kemper, executive director of the Colorado Water Congress. He's known the two for years and called Wright and Shriver hard-working and knowledgeable.
"Both had agricultural backgrounds, and both were strong supporters of the Valley when dealing with complex issues," Kemper said.
Entz, who served in the Colorado legislature for 22 years, worked with Wright and Shriver in a variety of water organizations. Next meeting, he'll face two empty seats.
"It's a great loss to the San Luis Valley as a whole," Entz said. "We just can't believe it happened. It's a crazy thing."
Two San Luis Valley water leaders killed when snow slides off of roof....
Updated: 03/22/2010 04:45:56 PM MDT
Two San Luis Valley water leaders were killed in a freak accident when snow slid off the roof of a cabin near Creede and buried them.
Ray Wright, board president for the Rio Grande Water Conservation District, and Doug Shriver, chairman of the Rio Grande Water Users Association, died Friday after being smothered by the falling snow, said Mineral County coroner Charles Downing.
"The snow slid off . . . all at once and caught them," Downing said, describing the incident as avalanche deaths.
The two were apparently cleaning snow from the roof and around the cabin when the slide occurred, Downing said. Autopsies are scheduled for Monday.
Wright and Shriver, both from Monte Vista, headed to the cabin located "up the river from Creede" in the San Juan Mountains about 8:30 or 9 Friday morning, Downing said. When they didn't return by evening, their concerned wives asked a friend to check on them, Downing said. Unable to see much at the cabin, the friend called the sheriff. A local search-and-rescue team was then dispatched.
"I believe they actually found them somewhere between 9:30 (p.m.) and 10 (p.m.)," Downing said. He pronounced the two dead at 11:53 p.m. Friday.
Heavy snowfall in recent months likely contributed to the accident, Downing said, with totals in the area nearing 50 inches. He estimated the cabin roof held 2.5 feet of snow.
Lewis H. Entz served with Wright on the Rio Grande Water Conservation District board. He's known both Wright and Shriver their whole lives, he said, and calls them "water buffaloes," a nickname for those who work to protect the state's water.
"They were good neighbors, good farmers and good water people," Entz said. "As far as I know, nobody ever had anything but good to say about them."
Entz heard about the deaths in an e-mail on Saturday morning, he said, and word of the tragedy spread quickly through the area.
"We're all in a daze here," Entz said.
Wright, 56,and Shriver, 53, had ties to many in the Colorado water-rights community.
"Both of them were real water leaders in the San Luis Valley," said Douglas Kemper, executive director of the Colorado Water Congress. He's known the two for years and called Wright and Shriver hard-working and knowledgeable.
"Both had agricultural backgrounds, and both were strong supporters of the Valley when dealing with complex issues," Kemper said.
Entz, who served in the Colorado legislature for 22 years, worked with Wright and Shriver in a variety of water organizations. Next meeting, he'll face two empty seats.
"It's a great loss to the San Luis Valley as a whole," Entz said. "We just can't believe it happened. It's a crazy thing."
