Despite flooding that has damaged more than a quarter of buildings on campus, University of Colorado officials have said that Saturday's game between the Buffaloes and Fresno State will go on as scheduled in Boulder, Colo.
The university has canceled classes at least through Friday after approximately 40 buildings suffered water damage. Students in family housing near Boulder Creek were also forced to leave.
Fresno State athletic director Thomas Boeh told The Sacramento Bee that weather would not prevent the game from going on as scheduled and that the Bulldogs will travel to Boulder on Friday. The Boulder Daily Camera reported that Folsom Field, which sits on higher ground, is expected to be in decent playing shape for Saturday afternoon's game.
On Twitter, the Colorado athletic department on Thursday said, "Folsom Field is fine and there is no flooding. At present there are no issues with the game on Saturday other than parking."
With rain still falling and the flood threat still real, authorities called on thousands more people in the inundated city of Boulder and nearby towns to evacuate as rivers and creeks rose to dangerous levels.
At least three people were killed and another was missing, and numerous people were forced to seek shelter up and down Colorado's populated Front Range. Boulder County spokesman James Burrus said 17 people were unaccounted for as of Friday morning.
President Barack Obama signed an emergency declaration Thursday night, freeing federal aid and allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts.
The late-night reports from Boulder and the village of Eldorado Springs came as rescuers struggled to reach dozens of people cut off by flooding in Colorado mountain communities. Residents in the Denver area and other downstream communities were warned to stay off flooded streets.
The towns of Lyons, Jamestown and others in the Rocky Mountain foothills have been isolated by flooding and without power or telephone since rain hanging over the region all week intensified late Wednesday and early Thursday.