Eckert – Authorities and residents continued to pay close attention to runoff-swollen rivers on Sunday as an ongoing heat wave melted snowpack and prompted flood warnings and watches across much of the Western Slope.
Jim Boyd, state water commissioner and a local resident, was wearing boots and using a pitchfork to pull logs and large limbs out of Surface Creek to prevent flooding of homes late Sunday night.
“It’s got a potential to be real dangerous and do a lot of damage,” he said.
Delta County Sheriff Fred McKee said deputies closed several bridges along Surface Creek in Eckert and Cedaredge after water streamed over the roads.
Because the Western Slope hasn’t had similar flooding conditions in 10 years, debris has built up in and along rivers.
The powerful runoff carries fallen trees and limbs, boulders and even refrigerators, which are often submerged and unseen in muddy waters, said Rob Fiedler, emergency manager for Delta County.
Molly Kincaide, 23, of Eckert watched water stream into her garage from Surface Creek on Sunday night.
“This is the worst it’s been,” she said.
The field next to her house was flooded, and friends from church had put up floodlights and were building a wall with tarps and cinder blocks.
The county offered free sand, but offices were closed over the weekend.
“Isn’t that the stupidest thing you’ve ever heard of?” said Kincaide’s next-door neighbor, Jason Atchley. “I don’t think Mother Nature runs by the week clock.”
He was digging a trench to divert the water because he was worried his house would be next.
As the fast-moving creeks and rivers threatened to cause property damage, some experts worried that the multi-year drought may have lulled many Coloradans into believing it is safe to swim or boat in familiar rivers and streams during spring runoff.
“There is no institutional memory,” Fiedler said. “People don’t realize the power and velocity of the rivers under these conditions.”
A 51-year-old New York man died Sunday after falling into the Arkansas River during a commercial rafting trip, Chaffee County sheriff’s officials said.
Jay Levins, who was on the trip with his son, was in the water for one to two minutes before river guides could reach him, authorities said. The guides said the river flow was high but not abnormally so at about 700 to 800 cubic feet per second, sheriff’s Cpl. Michael Browett said.
On Saturday, Richard Lee Trout, 29, of Denver died after falling into the Dolores River west of Grand Junction while trying to save his sister’s boyfriend, Wyatt Mairel, 25, of Grand Junction.
Susan McBurney, spokeswoman for the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office, said Sunday that Mairel had a mild case of hypothermia.
No one should enter rivers without a life jacket or some kind of floatation device, she cautioned, especially not during an unusually high runoff year.
“People should exercise extreme caution this year because of the high water,” she said.
Also Saturday, a 45-year-old Illinois man on a private rafting trip drowned after his raft overturned on the Colorado River just east of Glenwood Springs.
For people drawn to the rivers during the runoff season, Jason Robertson, managing director of the nonprofit American White Water, advises that life jackets or some other type of personal flotation device are the single most important safety factor.
Another key to water safety is mental preparation, said Paul Semmer, an avid recreational boater based in Summit County.
If there’s more than one boat, Semmer said, there should be a group rescue plan. In his case, it’s always looking out for the raft just upstream. He said communication is crucial to speedy and effective recoveries.
“It’s critical,” Semmer said, “especially in high flows.”
Correspondent Bob Berwyn and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Recent river deaths
Tuesday
Shirlie “Digger” Paice, 64, of Carson City, Nev., died after a boat he was riding in as part of a private trip flipped and spilled its passengers into the Yampa River in Dinosaur National Monument. He was wearing a life vest.
Saturday
Richard Lee Trout, 29, of Denver died after falling into the Dolores River west of Grand Junction while trying to save his sister’s boyfriend, Wyatt Mairel, 25, of Grand Junction.
A 45-year-old Illinois man on a private rafting trip drowned after his raft overturned on the Colorado River just east of Glenwood Springs.
Sunday
Jay Levins, 51, of New York died Sunday after falling into the Arkansas River during a commercial rafting trip.
Source: Denver Post archives
