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<br />Warning 'Systen1_lmproll~~~,;;
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<br />bu~t It Can Ha~en Again--Anyw~e~~i
<br />
<br />it
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<br />, . . BY BETSY HOWARD ,
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<br />I~mpson River five years ago could
<br />!happen again. ,
<br />i That's th4i conclusioll of Ellis Bur-
<br />ltoll, meteorologjsl.-lII-charge at the
<br />!Natioual Wealber Service in Denver.
<br />,Flood warning, Bwton says, takes
<br />itime. ....
<br />The nJgbt of the BIg Thompson dis-
<br />aster. up to a foot of rain fell in four
<br />,hours in parts of the CllIIyon. Within
<br />'Ithe (irst,3Q miIlulAlS, the fast-1nOVi1lg
<br />water already bad kWed some people ,
<br />'~, 'or in their homes along the
<br />I y quiet streaJII.
<br />"There'suo commufty,aUoa S\lStem
<br />. '
<br />In the worJd that could gilt Informa.
<br />tIon on raInfaJIln the CllIIyon to a fore-
<br />ca.ster's oftk:e ami back out to the
<br />canyon to wam pclcftnllJ In' tIme,"
<br />BIIIto1l said In a te1epbolle iIlterview.
<br />ADd tbere's no way In the foresee-
<br />able future to warn ev~ In a
<br />,single eanyon, he says. '
<br />'.
<br />, "WATER CAN COME up In five to
<br />115 minutes Ilere because of the eleva-
<br />tion 'ami run-off." In flatter regions,
<br />more advance warnlng'Js possible lie-
<br />:CaUSe water can:take as long as four,
<br />bours to rise.
<br />
<br />Burton llluslrated how much water
<br />,came roadog clown the canyon the
<br />nlght of the fIoocI. The 12 inches of
<br />rain that . equaled about five biI"
<br />lion gallons of water ,.. or the amount
<br />;C/f wa~that t~ over New
<br />
<br />York's Niagara Falls In a six,cnInute
<br />period. , ' ,
<br />, "All that was golDg down '/be c:an-
<br />'yOll," Burton said. " -,
<br />, '
<br />The Natkmal Weather Service' bad
<br />been worklllg to cIevelop a IIlJod-warn.
<br />Ing system prior to the dlstlSW. The
<br />tragedy expedited the effort,' '
<br />
<br />: When semce meteolTiogists ob-
<br />serve a slow-moving sttmn system
<br />bearing heavy moisture, they contact
<br />. GeopIIysical Res\!SrCh :1JId Develop-
<br />'ment, a private meteoJiologici1l IIrm
<br />tbat conlacts spotters 1nf1he clUlYOns.
<br />
<br />i BOTH SPOTJ'ERS liND automatic
<br />lrain measuring clevittll send back re-
<br />ports on c:onditlons. ':hat Information
<br />'is relayed back to tpe Weather Ser,
<br />~ , , ;
<br />
<br />When ,coodltionS 'warrant, the &er'
<br />
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<br />
<br />vice J19llfies the Urban DraJnage and;
<br />Flood Control District, wblch warns,
<br />CllIIyon resideIIts through the civil de-i
<br />fense system that danger is impend'J
<br />Ing; , ;
<br />
<br />Forecaster Jolm Schwab was one of:
<br />two Natiollal Weather, Service fore-,
<br />casters working the nlght'of th!l Big'
<br />Thompson 1100<1. Then, as now, it was
<br />the service's responsibllityto Issue,
<br />the lIash-Ilood warning, but there was
<br />a snag"
<br />"We didn't hear much about what'
<br />was going on up there," Schwab re-,
<br />called. "We didn'L get a county report:
<br />on the heavy rains unW. quite late,
<br />'from the sheriff'S. office. .
<br />
<br />; .....Snt that wasn't their fault," he
<br />'said. "TIley weren't'quite aware 01
<br />t wbat was going 011. They were preu.y
<br />'buSY,..",::"
<br />-_._ __.._ ,_ _.._, .._._.i
<br />Sherilfs officers 'were sctambliDg:
<br />because they thought at first the dam-
<br />just below Estes Park bad brokell, he "
<br />said. The base of the dam was dam.
<br />aged by the rush of water but didn't:
<br />give. ' \ :
<br />, ,
<br />i EARLIER IN THE day the service'
<br />:bad Issued Wlll"lllllgs of heavy rains in
<br />,the day. , ,', , 'r,
<br />'SChwab bad monltoredthe 1965:
<br />Platte River noOd caused by several-
<br />days' of rain, but he was unprepared :
<br />for the,speed and devastation of the '
<br />BIg Thompson fIood... ';
<br />, ~1 was 'shocked, .. he said, when he.
<br />, ,learned of the Big Thompson disaster, '
<br />: "I didn't hear of the full magnitude
<br />! until the next morning. I ! :
<br />I " ,',
<br />i"y'o~ go througb your mind the In.~
<br />! formation we had. We responded to It....
<br />I ------."e
<br />we just-didn't know what was gomlC
<br />on ul' there." ;,.
<br />: A Big Thompson IIood can bappen "
<br />again, perhaps not In that canyon but "
<br />elsewhere In the state, Burton said. .
<br />"EVERY CANYON" IN Colorado
<br />bas bad tbaL much water In it and Win
<br />agaIn," he sald. :
<br />But the most effective way of sav-
<br />Ing lives isn't going to cost mlIllons.
<br />The answer liesln a simple message. '
<br />. Burton lauded the green-and-whlte '
<br />signs posted at the mouths of many
<br />Colorado canyons that depict water
<br />and a figure biIdng up the canyonslde,
<br />Hikers and motorists are warned to
<br />climb to safety; ,
<br />, People sbouId hike at least 50 feet
<br />up a canyon side In' the event of a
<br />IIash IIood, Burton sa1d, ".Fifty feet
<br />will lake you wen aIiove the lIow." '
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