Governor John Hickenlooper (left) listens to Fremont County Emergency Management Director Steve Morrisey detail impacts of the September flooding in Fremont County. County Road & Bridge Director Tony Adamic (center) plus other local municipal and irrigation officials took part in the presentation
Fremont County was the final stop for Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper of a four county southern Colorado tour on October 30th of areas affected by the mid-September flooding. The Governor had visited Otero, Crowley, and Pueblo Counties before traveling to Cañon City.
Hickenlooper was briefed by Fremont County Department of Transportation Director Tony Adamic about the flooding damage on county roads from the more than five inches of rain that fell from September 11th through the 16th. Adamic shared a power point presentation with photos showing some of the heaviest damage to County Roads 123 and 132 as well as Phantom Canyon Road. Adamic said so far the flooding has cost Fremont County’s Department of Transportation $245,000 in road repairs, labor, and equipment expense. He said he hopes that FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) emergency assistance will pick up 75 percent of that cost.
Fremont County Emergency Management Director Steve Morrisey briefed the Governor about the on-going efforts by FEMA officials to assist both public entities and individual property owners around Fremont County who sustained property damage from the flooding.
Doug Koehn and Manny Colon of Cañon City used the face to face meeting with the Governor to detail their long standing concerns about their Hydraulic and Oil Creek Irrigation Ditches being used for stormwater drainage. They said their irrigation ditches are being damaged by some of the extensive flooding while at the same time the ditch companies are being blamed for flood waters pouring across various neighborhoods in the East Canon and Four Mile areas.
Transportation Director Tony Adamic shared a number of photos with the Governor depicting a variety of damage to roads and bridges in eastern Fremont County in September
Hickenlooper acknowledged that Fremont County has already been through a particularly tough year with the Royal Gorge Park wildfire in June and now widespread damage from the September flood waters. He said the State of Colorado stands ready to help where it can.