Spring weather signals flood preparation

While the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been one of the major focuses of local governments, the advancement of warmer weather following an extensive winter heralds another major issue; potential flooding. 

The Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) received a brief update from Fire Warden Ron Brown as he made his final report as interim Emergency Management Coordinator on May 5. Brown has served as the interim coordinator since July 2019 following the departure of former Emergency Management Coordinator John Zeiger.

Brown informed the county commissioners that one of his last tasks in that position was to work with the Little Snake River Valley in preparing for potential flooding. According to Brown, the Little Snake River had seen a recent spike and the county was working on preplanning in the event of a flood.

“Thanks to Kandis (Fritz) and Mr. (Jim) Piche, we have over 10,000 sandbags that are now pre-positioned in Rawlins and are ready to deploy if needed,” said Brown.

BOCCC Chairman John Johnson asked Brown if sandbags that had been filled in the previous years were still accounted for. Brown replied that he was still working on getting a count of what was left and what might have been destroyed.

“I know we’ve got a good handful down at Saratoga that I need to get a count on,” Brown said.

In June 2019, approximately 11,000 sandbags were filled with help from Carbon County and Smokebusters from the Wyoming Honor Conservation Camp in Newcastle. A number of those sandbags were destroyed in the weeks following as the North Platte River did not swell too far beyond its bank and the Saratoga Town Council directed the Department of Public Works to dispose of the excess bags.

“We pulled quite a few of the bags that we’ve got here out of Medicine Bow,” said Brown. We didn’t see the threat in that area and, I think, Jim (Piche) needed the space. So, we tried to preposition as central as possible.”

Following his update, Brown thanked the BOCCC for the opportunity to serve as the interim Emergency Management Coordinator. 

The next meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners will be at 9 a.m. on May 19 at the Carbon County Courthouse in Rawlins.