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<br />used to help make the decision whether or not to close High- <br />way 6 and the Burlington Norl:hern Railroad line. since the <br />railroad is to make the closure of its' l.ine, and a crew must <br />be dispatched from Denver, "the maximum amount of warning is <br />needed with a minimum of error. <br />5.2.3.1 LOWER FLOAT SCENARIO - When a m1assage has been <br />ceived from the gage announcincj that water has reached <br />lower float: <br />a. Note the t,ime. <br />b. Call obseJ:vers at upstr,'aam points in the Kiowa Creek ba- <br />sin to get rainfall and str,'aam reports i:f you have not al- <br />ready received them. <br />c. Call the National WeathE~r service in Limon. Identify <br />yourself as Wiggins, Colo:t:ado and let 'them know when the <br />alarm went off, then ask for a rainfall forecast for the <br />Kiowa Creek Bas:in. This will help you know if more rain can <br />be expected wit:hin the next few hours. <br />d. Send a volunteer to the flood warning gages and points <br />upstream to evaluate the flood threat. <br />If volunteer a:nd observer reports indica'te that a very large <br />flood is coming (stream spr1aading out allover t:he valley), <br />activate all flood emergency procedures without waiting for <br />the upper floalt alarm. Thi!, 1wuld be a judgemEmt call for <br />the flood coordinator, but would provide additional lead time <br />for erecting the closure structures. It would also give <br />residents in ICIW lying areas outside of the levee and motor- <br />ists more time to evacuate the threatened areas. <br />5.2.3.2 UPPER FLOAT SCENARIO .- When a message is received <br />from an upper float: <br />a. Note the t:ime. <br />b. Compare t:he elapsed tilllEa between floats with the times <br />given in Table 3. <br />c, If the elapsed time bebleen the warnings given by the <br />lower and upper floa'ts indica1:es 'that a flood capable of en- <br />tering the closure s"tructures is approaching and observer re- <br />ports validatEl the size of the flood; notify the railroad, <br />and begin preparations for closing Highway 6. A general in- <br />spection of the levee and culvert flap gates should be car- <br />ried out to make sure that every-thing is ready for a major <br />flood. <br />d. Close county roads subjec't 'to overflows with assistance <br />from the Count:y Sheriff Department,s and evacuate people in <br />threatened areas. <br />e. Note that: if the stream was already partially full be- <br />fore the heavy rains came that caused the upper float to go <br />off, the strean could flood much faster 'than indicat,ed by the <br />times in Table!; 5 and 6. This is why observer and volunteer <br />reports are impOJ;tant during a flood. <br />5.2.4 Althou~Jh it is highly unlike,ly that snow melt or ice <br />jam flooding from Kiowa Creek would be severe enough to re- <br />quire the operation of the closure structures, 'the automated <br />alarm gage should work during that: t:ype of flood. The trash <br />screen at the bottom of the stilling well should keep large <br />chunks of ice out of the gaq-e, yet allow the water in to <br /> <br />re- <br />the <br /> <br />20 <br />