Heavy rains in the Texas Creek area Sunday afternoon heavily damaged a county road leading into a popular Bureau of Land Management ATV recreation site. The storm that dumped more than two inches of rain in a short time period stranded fourteen people from the Denver area when flash flooding washed out several sections of Fremont County Road 27. The people stranded had been four-wheeling in the area of a ridge near the end of the seven milestretch of the county road when the storm hit. (Photo Courtesy of Arkansas Headwaters Park & BLM))
Fremont County Sheriff's Officers launched a rescue effort Sunday evening for the stranded people assisted by BLM staff members. They had to walk or ride their ATV's to get out of the storm hit area. The four trucks they had driven into the area had to temporarily be left behind.
Fremont County Cotopaxi Road Foreman Paul Garrett said the washouts were up to eight feet deep in places. Garrett said he will be working the area today with a front end loader to make the road passable again so the vehicles can be driven out. Garrett said he did not travel the entire distance of where the flash flooding washed away the road, but was told that there were at least four significant places that will require major repairs. Garrett notes that while he may get the road passable so the abandoned vehicles can be driven out, it may be several weeks before the full seven mile length of County Road 27 can be restored to a drivable condition for all motorists.
The Bureau of Land Management has begun making their own assessment of repairs that will be needed to the trails throughout the Texas Creek Recreation Site. The BLM issued a statement advising all ATV and other recreation users to avoid the Texas Creek recreation area while repairs are underway. The recreation area's parking lot was also heavily damaged by the flooding but the boat ramp is still accessible.
Garrett said another problem the county will try to deal with in the coming days is the fact that the flash flood washed tons of dirt and rock from the hillsides into the Arkansas River beneath the Texas Creek bridge. He said the debris needs to be cleaned from the river channel to protect the concrete bridge abutments. That will likely require special permission from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to work in the river channel.
Fremont County Cotopaxi Road Foreman Paul Garrett said the washouts were up to eight feet deep in places. Garrett said he will be working the area today with a front end loader to make the road passable again so the vehicles can be driven out. Garrett said he did not travel the entire distance of where the flash flooding washed away the road, but was told that there were at least four significant places that will require major repairs. Garrett notes that while he may get the road passable so the abandoned vehicles can be driven out, it may be several weeks before the full seven mile length of County Road 27 can be restored to a drivable condition for all motorists.
The Bureau of Land Management has begun making their own assessment of repairs that will be needed to the trails throughout the Texas Creek Recreation Site. The BLM issued a statement advising all ATV and other recreation users to avoid the Texas Creek recreation area while repairs are underway. The recreation area's parking lot was also heavily damaged by the flooding but the boat ramp is still accessible.
Garrett said another problem the county will try to deal with in the coming days is the fact that the flash flood washed tons of dirt and rock from the hillsides into the Arkansas River beneath the Texas Creek bridge. He said the debris needs to be cleaned from the river channel to protect the concrete bridge abutments. That will likely require special permission from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to work in the river channel.