Laserfiche WebLink
<br />June 17. 1965 <br /> <br /> <br />The f+ood damage in Pueblo County in the vicinity of <br /> <br /> <br />Pueblo was roughly $3,700,000 according to the Pueblo Regional <br /> <br /> <br />Planning Commission's Technical Working Paper T-3, "The Fountain <br /> <br /> <br />River Flood Problem," Man-made obstructions limited the channel <br /> <br /> <br />capacity to a width of 250 feet or lees at s~veral locations. <br /> <br /> <br />These constrictions probably caused more flooding in the overbank <br /> <br />areas than would have normally been expected under natural condi- <br /> <br />tions for this magnitude of flood. Approximately 53 city blocks <br />were inundated up to a depth of B feet. City streets and" utili ties <br />were washed out or clogged with debris; the interstate freeway Was <br />blocked and severely damaged; segments of the main railroad line <br />were washed out; and several industrial and governmental eetablish- <br />ments were heavily damaged or destroyed. There were 370 residences <br />and 59 businesses damaged, touching 417 Pueblo County families. <br />Earliest local flooding began on 14 June in left bank <br />tributaries of Fountain Creek. Due to small volume flow, however, <br />the peak of this flood diminished to about 7,obo cubic feet per <br />second at the mouth of Fountain Creek. The "cloudburst" type rains <br />occurring in the vicinity of Colorado Springs on 17 June produced <br />the Fountain Creek peak of 47,000 cubic feet per second at Pueblo. <br />The major portion of the flood waters originated from Jimmy Camp <br />Creek. The peak from this small 78 square mile watershed was <br />124,000 cubic feet per second at its confluence with Fountain Creek. <br />El Paso County Was hit by five high precipitation centers, including <br />two l4-inch centers in the northern part of El Paso County, along the <br />Platt-Arkansas Divide; a 13-inch center about 13 miles northeast of <br />Colorado Springs; an 8-inch center about 15 miles south-southeast of <br />Colorado Springs; and a 9-inch center 10 miles north-northeast of <br />Colorado Springs. The rainfall was so intense (up to 12 inches in <br />3 hours) that the entire countryside became a moving lake according <br />to one report. <br /> <br />28 <br />