Global Courant
DENVER — A brief but violent storm lashed concertgoers with golf ball-sized hail as they took cover at the famed Red Rocks Amphitheater near Denver, injuring dozens and canceling the show’s headliner, former One Direction member Louis Tomlinson.
As many as 90 people were treated for injuries from Wednesday night’s storm at the outdoor site in the Rocky Mountain foothills and seven people were taken to a hospital, West Fire Rescue said. Some were injured by hail and others had broken bones, bruises and cuts while seeking shelter, but none of the injuries were life-threatening, said fire service spokeswoman Ronda Scholting.
In some places in the amphitheatre, which was carved out of a sedimentary rock formation, hail piled up like snow. The show was initially postponed due to weather, with fans told to take cover in their vehicles, according to tweets from the venue. The concert was subsequently cancelled.
Hailstorms began to fall as Nicole Criner 28 and her sister made their way to the car to escape the intensifying storm. Before they could make it, larger hailstones began pelting them, and they grabbed a small plastic plate at the entrance to the venue to cover their heads.
Criner said the sign kept their heads partially covered, but their hands, backs and shoulders were pelted by stinging hail. Criner’s glasses fell off her head and were swept into a river of hail that flowed nearby.
Criner shared a video of the moment on Twitter where concertgoers can be seen running as her sister screamed in pain from the hail that hit them. Others took shelter under trees and in bushes.
“We hid under this plastic plate, but it was super windy, and we tried to keep it on top of our heads, but then our hands got hit by the hail,” she said. “We weren’t completely sheltered, so we got hit on our shoulders and our backs.”
Criner and her sister escaped the hail when a car pulled up and the driver called them in, along with others who had nowhere else to hide. Bleeding with a bump on her head, Criner and her sister were able to reconnect with their father and his girlfriend they had lost in the chaos.
A day later, she said, she was still in pain and bruising.
“I still have an egg bump on my head,” she said Thursday, as another series of thunderstorms dropped large hailstorms in parts of the Denver area.
Beth Nabi, 44, had flown in from Dublin, Ireland, to see one of her favorite musicians perform at the Colorado venue. At about 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, she said she could see lightning and thunder coming in the distance.
When the weather deteriorated, concertgoers were encouraged to seek shelter.
But not wanting to give up hope of seeing Tomlinson, Nabi hung on. She said the hail started falling while she was in a bathroom and the bathroom quickly filled up with other concertgoers trying to escape the hailstorm.
“I came out of the toilet cubicle to a bathroom full of as many people as I could cram in, all looking for shelter,” she said.
The storm lasted about 10 minutes before she was able to leave the bathroom and see all the hail on the floor.
“The hailstorm was just crazy. It was apocalyptic. It was fast,” she said.
To top it off, she returned to her rental car to find that the windshield was cracked in several places and the hood was dented. Nabi said she is anxiously awaiting to hear when the concert will be moved.
“I’m bummed it didn’t happen,” she said. “‘I hope we get news on when it can be rescheduled, and I hope I can make it because I was so looking forward to the experience at that location.”
Tomlinson tweeted that he was “devastated” by the cancellation and vowed to return.
“Even though we didn’t play the show, I felt all your passion! I send you all the love!” He wrote.
Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater is about 10 miles west of Denver.
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Dupuy reported from New York.
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