Meeting April 20 to focus on lingering flood issues from Waldo Canyon Fire
On the second day of the Waldo Canyon Fire,
June 24, 2012, the blaze spreads along a ridge above the Cedar Heights
neighborhood. Previous brush-clearing efforts by residents there were later
credited for helping prevent the blaze from destroying any Cedar Heights homes.
Westside Pioneer file photo
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The event will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Chipeta Elementary School, 2340 Ramsgate Terrace, with a focus on the lingering threats of flooding along Camp Creek and North/South Douglas creeks.
“As we near the fifth anniversary of the Waldo Canyon Fire, the burn scar continues to recover,” a press release quotes Gordon Brenner, city recovery coordinator. “However, the threat of flash flooding in certain areas of western Colorado Springs still exists. Many flood mitigation efforts have taken place since the Waldo Canyon Fire, but residents must remain vigilant during heavy rain events and especially during the monsoon season, which runs from May through September.”
These are the listed meeting topics:
· An analysis of recovery and mitigation efforts on the burn scar.
· Weather forecasting, potential flood impact areas and methods for flash flood warnings.
· Disaster preparedness planning, including a presentation by the Colorado Springs Fire Department Swift Water Rescue Team.
Between June 23, 2012, and its containment 17 days later, the Waldo Canyon Fire killed two people and burned more than 18,000 acres - mostly forest land except for 382 homes that were destroyed or damaged in the Mountain Shadows neighborhood. Authorities said the blaze was “human-caused,” but no arrests were ever made or suspects identified.
Rainstorms since 2012 have worsened flooding problems because of the loss of forest vegetation, particularly in the Camp and Douglas Creek drainages, whose headwaters flow through badly burned areas, local officials have said.
For more information on the meeting, call 385-5248.
Westside Pioneer/press release
(Posted 4/11/17;
Community:
Public Safety)
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