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<br />II. THE EVENTS OF 1996 <br /> <br />A. MAY 1996 BUFFALO CREEK WILDFIRE <br />On the morning of May 18, 1996 a wildfire was accidentally started in the Pike National Forest via <br />an abandoned campfire in a campground near Buffalo Creek, The fire quickly spread and burned <br />approximately 11,900 acres of forested lands, mostly within a two day period, Fire suppression was <br />initiated by Forest Service fire fighting crews on the 18th, and the fire was officially controlled on <br />May 24, 1996. <br /> <br />Of the total burned area, 11,320 acres were National Forest lands, and 580 acres were private lands, <br />The low, moderate, and high fire intensity areas were estimated to be 1100 acres, 3300 acres, and <br />7500 acres, respectively, A total of 2400 acres were considered to have hydrophobic (water <br />repellent) soils, The hydrophobic layers developed in areas where the fuel loadings were highest, <br />which was mainly within the areas directly under the aerial coverage of conifer canopy, <br /> <br />The vegetation of the burned area consisted mainly of Ponderosa Pine and Douglas Fir canopies <br />with a variety of understory growth including Mountain Mahogany, Yucca, Aster, Gooseberry, <br />Raspberry, Currant, Timothy, Blue Grama, Liatris, Little Blue Stem, and other species, The <br />dominant soils in the burned area consist of Sphinx and Sphinx/Rock outcrop complex, The <br />geology is characterized by decomposed granite, The shallow soils are gravely course sandy loams, <br />and the organic layer was quite shallow and was heavily consumed by the fire, Accelerated erosion <br />and increased runoff were expected as a result of the fire, <br /> <br />B. ,JULY 12. 1996 BUFFALO CREEK FLOOD EVENT <br /> <br />1. Precipitation Event <br />The summer storm that produced flash flooding in the Buffalo Creek area was a typical convective <br />type cloudburst event. These events are not uncommon along the foothills and plains in eastern <br />Colorado, Storms like this form quickly and can produce large amounts of rainfall, hail, and severe <br />weather conditions within a short amount of time, <br /> <br />At this time, only preliminary information is available describing the particular storm over Buffalo <br />Creek, The information is based on field analyses, rain gage information, and interviews with <br />witnesses and local residents, The information indicates that the storm moved from west to east <br />and then stalled right over the lower part of the Buffalo Creek watershed, The most intense rainfall <br />amounts are estimated to be from 2 inches to 3,5 inches within 30 to 90 minutes, The storm may <br />have covered an area between 10 and 30 square miles. There is some uncertainty about the <br />antecedent moisture conditions prior to the storm event. Some evidence suggests that there may <br />have been up to a half inch or inch of rain within a few hours prior to the thunderstorm event. To <br />provide a point of reference, the lOO-vear, I-hour precipitation depth for southern Jefferson County <br />is reported to be about 2,1 inches according to the Jefferson County Storm Drainage Design and <br />Criteria Manual. <br /> <br />5 <br />