Laserfiche WebLink
<br />....0.0 2 S 6 9 ~ 00 'l-SG/o <br /> <br />Community Impact <br /> <br />1) Estimates of damages from the 1977 debris flow disaster range as high as <br />$2 million, although most reports indicate total losses fall somewhere <br />between $500,000 and $1 million. The 1981 debris flows in G1enwood <br />Springs caused approximately $100,000 in damages. <br /> <br />2) Landslides caused approximately $300,000 in damages in 1984, and over <br />$500,000 in damages in unincorporated Garfield County in 1985. In May, <br />1985, 20 county roads were blocked by landslides, and Baxter Pass had to <br />be closed. In May, 1985, Garfield County also recorded the largest <br />single-event earthf10w in Colorado history, a 175-foot thick mass of <br />debris that was a mile long and 1,000 feet wide. <br /> <br />3) In addition to direct damages, other economic impacts include loss of <br />tourist trade due to media coverage of events and fish kill in the Roaring <br />Fork River and other streams, although these losses are undocumented. <br /> <br />Mitigation <br /> <br />In 1982 the city of G1enwood Springs contracted for the preparation of an <br />engineering study and control plan. The actual work plan accomplished the <br />following: <br /> <br />1) debris flow basins were ranked in terms of hazard severity. The 20 most <br />hazardous basins were selected for detailed analysis, <br /> <br />2) the hydraulic properties of debris flows and flash floods in the selected <br /> <br />basins were determined, <br /> <br />3) conceptual designs of workable alternative control systems for combined <br />debris flow and storm runoff were provided, <br /> <br />The plan included non-structural methods such as zoning and land-use <br />restrictions, flood warning systems, and maintenance programs for channels and <br />debris source areas; and structural methods such as floodproofing, debris <br />basins and dams. energy dissipators. drop structures, channels, and storm <br />sewers. <br /> <br />- 83 - <br />