A severe solstice hailstorm inflicted bloody cuts and broke concertgoers’ bones amid mayhem at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison on Wednesday night — among other severe-weather impacts along Colorado’s urban Front Range — raising anxieties about future extreme weather and the challenge of providing warnings as early as possible.
At least seven people were hospitalized with injuries sustained at the famed amphitheater’s Louis Tomlinson concert. The injuries requiring hospitalization included cuts and broken bones, according to West Metro Fire Rescue postings on Twitter.
Between 80 and 90 other people who suffered lacerations and bruises were treated by paramedics and medical personnel at the venue, West Metro Fire officials said.
A National Weather Service bulletin, posted on Twitter at 9:26 p.m., warned of radar showing “golf ball sized hail or larger,” specifically mentioning the Red Rocks area, and advised: “Take cover with this storm!!”
But at the Denver-owned Red Rocks venue, west of the city in mountain foothills, opportunities to take cover are limited, typically requiring 10-minute treks, sometimes longer, to reach vehicles parked in peripheral lots. Rideshare transportation can mean no shelter is available.
Red Rocks officials earlier Wednesday evening had announced delays of the Tomlinson concert, starting around 8:07 p.m., due to the threat of lightning. They advised concertgoers to take shelter in their vehicles until an all-clear was given for the event to continue.
Some of the estimated 6,000 people in the crowd left at that point.
The event resumed and ticket-holders flocked back to their seats as storms continued to develop overhead in the clouds. Heavy hail began falling around 9:30 p.m. By then, it was too late to shield thousands of concertgoers from heavy rain, the golf-ball-sized hail, and potentially deadly lightning strikes.
Videos show a frantic scramble, and scores of people crammed into restrooms, backstage and a visitor center seeking shelter. Others hunkered under signs.
It wasn’t until 10:25 p.m. that Red Rocks officials, apparently counting on the storm passing, declared an official postponement. Hailstones covered the seats, paths and parking lots at that time.
Red Rocks is run by Denver Arts & Venues, a branch of the city government. Red Rocks managers say they rely on a contractor, called Skyview, for guidance based on National Weather Service forecasts — which on Wednesday afternoon warned of potentially severe storms.
The contractor notified Red Rocks managers shortly after 9 p.m. “that something was forming and that it was moving fast and that this one was serious,” said Brian Kitts, the city’s spokesman for Red Rocks.
Red Rocks officials posted a red emergency evacuation warning on a display screen at the venue advising everyone to take shelter about 10 minutes before the hail hit, Kitts said.
“Our response was immediate, as soon as they (the contractor) said, ‘This is serious,’” Kitts said. “Venue managers are not meteorologists. We rely on this type of advice.”
On social media, concertgoers lamented injuries and posted shaky video snippets showing large hail pelting frantic people who ran, using their arms and garments to try to protect their heads in the fray.
“Tonight was the scariest night of my life,” a woman who identified herself as Nicole wrote in a posting on Twitter at 9:47 p.m. “It started pelting people with hail at Red Rocks and my sister and I luckily found shelter under a sign. I am bleeding and have huge bumps on my head from the hail. Hoping everyone made it out safely.”
A 10:26 p.m. Twitter posting said: “Thank you so much to the concessions workers at red rocks for not letting us in to take shelter bc we couldn’t get to our cars and instead recorded us and laughed at us while i was sobbing having a panic attack.”
The concertgoers who were hospitalized mostly suffered from lacerations and have been treated and released, Kitts said Thursday morning.
And Red Rocks officials were looking into allegations that concession workers mocked and took videos of people scrambling for shelter.
“We saw what was posted and we have reached out to that person hoping they will tell us where that concession stand was,” Kitts said. “If that happened, it is absolutely not what you want to hear about your colleagues doing in a situation like that. But we don’t know where that concession stand was or what the extent of that was. We don’t have verification yet.”
City officials weren’t ready to discuss whether shelters ought to be built around the red sandstone rocks as protection against possible future extreme weather during concerts, he said.
“Last night was kind of a once-in-a-lifetime event,” Kitts said. “Red Rocks and other outdoor venues are subject to this kind of weather. Fans are generally prepared for it. Last night was a hard one.”
Tomlinson issued a statement, posted on Twitter at 11:56 p.m., saying he was “devastated about the show.” Tomlinson added: “Hope everyone’s ok, I’ll be back! Even though we didn’t play the show I felt all of your passion! Sending you all love!”
Red Rocks officials said on Twitter that they hoped to reschedule the Tomlinson concert, and that “information regarding refunds will come to ticket holders directly from Live Nation, the promoter of last night’s event.”
Storms sweeping across Colorado on Wednesday led to exceptionally severe weather including lightning, wind bursts, heavy rain, hail and a few tornadoes in northeastern Colorado.
Southeast of Colorado Springs, heavy rain, hail and intense lightning hammered communities including Security, Fountain, Widefield and Hanover, according to weather service and county alert bulletins. On Thursday morning, the extent of the damage wasn’t clear, and forecasters warned that more severe weather is expected Thursday afternoon.
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