Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest Moves Forward on Flood Recovery Efforts

The September flood caused extensive damage to many roads, trails, and facilities, along with resource damage and other concerns on the forest. Since then the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest and Pawnee National Grassland (ARP) has continued to assess needs and move forward.

Multiple items of note have occurred since the ARP Flood Incident Assessment Team released its report last November. This initial assessment provided a snapshot of the scope and scale of the flood damage on National Forest System lands.

“There is a great deal of work to be done within the Forest’s flood impacted area and we know that annual snow run-off may result in additional damage,” Lori Bell, Flood Recovery Team Lead, said. “We are doing what we can at this point and know that addressing all the needs will take years.”

A critical item identified in the initial assessment was that due to access issues from the flood, a helicopter is needed to supplement ground firefighting efforts. The ARP will have an exclusive use helicopter from mid-June to mid-September. The helicopter will help with response time to fires, along with the ability to support project work when available. This Type 3 helicopter will be similar to the one stationed on the ARP last season, with the U.S. Forest Service providing leadership and working closely with local cooperators for additional staffing support.

The assessment team’s work with the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) has led to the approval of nearly $2.2 million dollars for qualifying damaged roads on the Canyon Lakes and Boulder ranger districts through the Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads (ERFO) program. This work will be implemented by the Central Federal Lands group of the FHA once conditions allow and contracts are in place.

Other activities the Forest is involved in since the flood includes working with municipalities organizations on recovery efforts, including power line reconstruction, fill material, debris flow stabilization and dam decommissioning; implementation of a closure order for many roads and trails due to public safety and resource damage concerns; and repair of some lower-elevation roads in the flood area.

The forest, working through the Rocky Mountain Regional Office of the U.S. Forest Service, has also received funding to staff a team to help in the recovery efforts. This team consists of a team leader, community liaisons, engineer, hydrologist, recreation planner and reality specialist. Additional positions may be identified as work continues into the spring and summer. This team will work with the forest to prioritize needs and collaborate with partners to share information and resources as appropriate. Some funding has also been identified to start work on other roads, trails, and facilities damaged by the flood.

Visitors are reminded this flood changed the landscape of the forest dramatically. The forest is still full of recreational opportunities, but not necessarily the same as it was before. Use caution in rain affected areas. Additional information is posted here.



Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

Four Ways to Help the Colorado Flood Victims

There are at least 4 ways you can directly help the victims of the recent floods in Colorado - at least those in the Estes Park area. If you know of others, please leave a comment or send me an email.

1) You can volunteer your time. The Volunteer Clearinghouse is now open from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. You can email them at vch@estes.org or call them at 970-577-3974.

2) You can make a monetary donation. A special flood relief fund has been set up through Crossroads Ministry to receive and disperse funds for local flood victims. Please visit www.crossroadsministryofEP.org for more information and to donate.

3) If interested in directly helping Rocky Mountain National Park with recovery aid, the Rocky Mountain Nature Association is spearheading efforts to raise money to help with flood recovery needs within the park. Your gift will be used for a variety of flood related needs, including trail, bridge and road repair. For more information, please visit: www.rmna.org

4) Visit Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park, and patronize local businesses! Believe it or not, but many businesses in the Estes Park area are already up and running. There are several big events coming up that you shouldn't miss, namely the annual elk rut and the beautiful fall aspens. Estes Park will also be holding several events this fall, including this weekend's annual Elk Fest.


Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

Estes Park / Big Thompson Canyon Flood Videos

In case you missed some of the film footage coming from the Colorado flood last week, I wanted to share a couple of videos from the Estes Park / Big Thompson Canyon areas. Whether you've only been to the area once, many times, or have ever lived here, the sights are quite shocking and amazing at the same time.

The first two videos are from Nick Mollé Productions, which show the flood as it passes through Estes Park. Clips were taken from various locations:





This video shows rescue crews bringing a person over the raging waters of the Big Thompson River in Estes Park:



The last video shows raw footage from a cameraman as he followed along with the Fire Department responding to the flood in the Big Thompson Canyon:




Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

Video and Images of the flood in RMNP

Below is some footage of the Alluvial Fan in upper Horseshoe Park. The short video was taken by rangers last week during the flooding event in Rocky Mountain National Park. There appears to be a fair amount of clean-up that will be needed in this location alone:



You can see other photos of the flood within the park by clicking onto the RMNP Facebook album page.


Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com