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<br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />higher than it ~as the day before, the cutrent covered the D~RC Rail- <br />road yard with several feet and filled the lo~er part of the station... <br />The river flowed through and across the fish pond and s~imrning pool fill- <br />ing them"ith silt and sand". <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />rocky silt, caused it to rise ",ithout jllmping the banks for a ti:ne." <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />On July 2, 1973, the Ouray Counry Plaindealer reported the most recent <br />serious flooding. "It came in like sangbusters at <<:30 p.~. Sunday, a <br />ripping, roaring, frightening cloudburst accompanied by lightning, <br />thunder, "ind and heavy hail. After less than a h.,lf hour of hellralsing, <br />the storm swept out again, having deposited 0.<<4 inches of prccipitation <br />..hich sent Cascade Flurne into flooding chaos..... TheheavyrLlnofffrom <br />Cascade Creek thundered cleanly down the flume across town until the de- <br />scent leveled off near the Uncompahgre River. There it clogged quickly, <br />and debris backed up about 300 feet to the Main Street underpass. V~cant <br />lots received the..orst of it, and "'ere flooded all the way to the r ivcr." <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />ThnAugust2,l9290urayHeraldaddedthefollO',Jingdetails, "twooft he <br />most terrific storms ever "itnessed in the history of Ouray, co~ing less <br />than t..o days apart, caused damage to property and roads estimated to be <br />near $150,000, and Ouray today is digging out of piles of debris consist- <br />ing of rocks, trees, lumber, bridges, logs and mud. A third storm On the <br />third day ..as mild, but added to the damage done by the cloudbursts of the <br />, ., <br />previous ays. <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />Minor cloudburst and heavy rains continued to occur ..ithin the study area <br />",atershedbutnolllajor flooding "as experienced until 1951. On August 4th <br />of that year the Montrose Daily "!'ress reported "The Cern City of the Rockies <br />was clearing away thi! debris of its worst flood in 22 years Friday and its <br />residents were some"hat apprehensive of a repeat performance of the "ater <br />spout that $truck late Thursday afternoon to send torrents of water, mud, <br />rocks and logs rolling down normal dry washes and city thoroughfares." <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />The observations of Mr. 'Gallaghcr ..ere substant1ated during this storm with <br />theP1aindealcrgivingthisaccount. "The flurne blockage created a phenom- <br />enon not often seen. For some time after the flume became plugged all the <br />way from the river to Main Street Bridge, water "aa running about two feet <br />abovegroundlevelinaneatpathasifbetweaninvisible..alls,fort..enty <br />feet before it spread out ..here land leveled off. This apparently occurs <br />because as the flumn is filled..ithsilt, gravel and other finedebr1$, <br />the ~ater is coming down with such force that it squeezed up through the <br />gunk but its momentum keeps it running On cOurse for a time, within ""lIs <br />that aren't there." <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />It was then another 14 years until Ouray was OnCa again struck by heavy <br />flooding. The July 7,1965 Ouray County Herald reported "A dO<ldburst high <br />up Portland and Cascade Creeks Sunday night washed down tons of rock~, trees <br />and mud from the mountain aides east of to""-. Both creeks run through town <br />in cement flumes. These soon became plugged ..ith debris and thn water flow- <br />ed ScrOsS parts of towo, through a number of hones. Ouray began cleaning <br />up its mess late Sunday evening, "ork continued ..ithout interruption through <br />the night and all day Monday. (Then on Tuesday), a heavy rain started fall- <br />ing at 9 o'clock and hy 11 Portland Cr",,-k wa~ again floorlinr,. It burst out <br />of its lIell cha"nel and cut acruss town in seoHsI pl"ccs, floodingrr.any <br />homesthathadpreviou$lyescaped." Damag"sfromfhesestor,oswasconaider- <br />able and relief funds amounting to $20,292 for rcpair of the flumes and <br />restorllUooofthesffectedareaawerereceivedfromtheFederalOHiceof <br />Emnrgcncy Preparedness. <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />Dcspite the frcqu"ncy and ferocity of thn fl.~sh floods throughout the study <br />area,lossofhuInSnlltehssbeensurprisinglyrare. Only four incidents <br />were uncovered, three in 1906 and one in 1927. The June 1, 1906 Ouray <br />Hcrald rccordod "A dOLld is believed to have burst nnd swelled Fors",sn <br />Crcck into a raging flood that borc down logs, trees, and earth and tore <br />out the fraU bridge st"'cture leavIng the track ,"uspended On ties twenty <br />feet above." Train engineer James O'~eil deed when his engine plunged in- <br />to the chasm before he could bring H to a stop. Lat..rthats"mcycar, t",o <br />rainerswerefound dead in a a,nalladit. The August 3, 1906 Ouray Herald <br />gavnthefollo..lngaccount' "Evldently they had taken refuge. from the rllin <br />in this tunnel and 11 cloudbutst on the mountain above had caused a torrnnt <br />of water to come down che little gulch beside ..hich the tunnel is located, <br />carrying debris ..hich filled the little tunnel almost to thn breast..... <br />The men could not possibly havc lived but 11 fnw moments after the torrent <br />washed in tha debris, as the space remaining w.~s quite small and ..as in all <br />pr<>bllbilityalmostorcompletelyfilled..ith"ater." <br />The 1927 casualty wllS reported in the August 5th Montrose Enterprise as <br />f<>ll""g. "B..lieved to be a victim of the recent high waters, the b"dy of <br />Henry Cuddigan, 50, a rancher, was fouod in a field near his cabin. The <br />field has been flooded by the creek (Uncompahgre), which had overflowed its <br />banka Wednesday night." <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />Although repairs ..cre made they did not atem the tide of future floods as <br />the area..as hit hard in H71 and asain in H73. The Ouray County Flain- <br />delller'sSeptcmbcr2,197ieditiondescribedthefollowingflood. "Hcavy <br />doudhursts Friday aft..rnoon c"us..d most d ,,1litehouse}lountain's east drain- <br />age to cut loose in a flooding rampage, do..n on Ouray and the arell north of <br />to""-. Considerable damnge was done by Oak Creek, Corbett Creek, Coal Creek <br />and Forsman Creek, to roads, water and se",er linns, though yards, patiOS, <br />baSnments and hayflelds got their sharo of flooding from varlous sOurces.... <br />According to the oldtimcrs in Ouray, Oak Creek has kept its tnmper since <br />1<<29 but it did a ,ood dcal of d,,",aae Friday. At one time, it plugged the <br />. 0 kk" <br />Uncompahgre with large boulders and debris, and made a temporary a e. <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />Dur:lngthIsstormaninterestingphC<1omenon..asrcportedbya1oca1 resident, <br />Tom Galbgher, "hen he obs<"vf'd the ,,'aters of Oak Cr....k runningahov., its <br />banks. His inte"prt>t.~ti<)n was that "the heaviness of the runoff of mucky, <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />-18- <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />-19- <br />