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<br />before the engineer realized the situation, The engineer, fireman, and brakeman went down with the engine,
<br />which search was completely buried, A few days later '" search was begun for the missing engine. Long
<br />metallic rods were driven in the sands, In some places, pits were started but soon abandoned because of the
<br />heavy underflow, and the location of the. , , locomotive appeared hopeless when it was estimated the bedrock
<br />formation was probably 50 feet below the channel of the Kiowa, (It never was recovered,)"
<br />
<br />Flood of 30-31 May 1935, This flood was caused by several small storm cells centered over the extreme
<br />upper reaches of the Kiowa Creek basin, Rainfall amounts up to 24 inches in a 12-hour period were reported,
<br />At the small town of Kiowa, Colorado, 15 houses were swept away and several stores were wrecked,
<br />Estimated peak discharges on Kiowa Creek for this event were 43,500 cubic feet per second at Elbert just
<br />below the junction of Kiowa and West Kiowa Creeks, 110,000 cubic feet per second at a site about 11 miles
<br />downstream from Kiowa, and 75,300 cubic feet per second near Bennett Water in Wiggins was several feet
<br />deep,
<br />
<br />Flood of 17-18 June 1965. A large storm system which was centered over the Bijou Creek Basin to the east
<br />extended into the upper reaches of the Kiowa Creek Basin, The largest rainfall amount reported was 14 inches,
<br />most of which fell in a single 3,hour period, Peak discharge estimates for this event were 41,500 cubic feet per
<br />second at a site just upstream from West Kiowa Creek, 19,700 cubic feet per second at Kiowa, and 24,900
<br />cubic feet per second near Bennett Of 69 floodwater retarding structures built by the SCS in the Kiowa Creek
<br />Basin, 30 were filled to capacity and in some cases emergency spillway flow depths were as high as 35 feet
<br />
<br />4.1,15 BIJOU CREEK BASIN
<br />
<br />Flood History, Floods in the Bijou Creek Basin have occurred as the result of runoff from high intensity
<br />rainfall over a relatively small portion of the drainage area, RE!cords do not indicate any major flooding from
<br />snowmelt runoff, The two record flood events that have occurred in the Basin are described in the following
<br />paragraphs.
<br />
<br />Flood of May 1935, Runoff from the storm of 30 and 31 May 1935 caused major flooding in the Bijou Creek
<br />Basin, An observer on East Bijou Creek at a point 3 miles west of Deer Trail reported seeing a wall of water
<br />10 or 15 feet high rushing toward him, The business section of Byers was inundated by flooding on West Bijou
<br />Creek, and the Union Pacific railroad bridge and embankment were washed out. The estimated peal"
<br />discharge at the Wiggins gaging station was 280,000 d,s,
<br />
<br />Flood of June 1965, The unprecedented rainstorms of June 1965 caused major flooding in the Bijou Creek
<br />basin, Heavy runoff caused extensive damage at the towns of Deer Traii and Byers, In the rural areas, farms
<br />and ranches along the bottomland were severely damaged, A boy was drowned as he was cllecking the
<br />livestock in one of the outbuildings at his father's ranch along a 13ijou Creek tributary, His father indicated that
<br />the flood approached without warning shortly after the heavy rains began, These floodwaters caused record
<br />flooding on the South Platte River which inflicted extensive damage at Fort Morgan and to agnculturallands
<br />along the river downstream to its conflufmce with the North Platte River, The estimated peak discharge of this
<br />flood at the Wiggins gaging station was 466,000 cubic feet per second,
<br />
<br />Colorado Flood
<br />Hydrology Manual
<br />
<br />4,19
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<br />DRAFT
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