Page 41 - The Silver Fire

THE BLACK RANGE RAG - WWW.BLACKRANGE.ORG
Flash Floods (Con’t)
moments. It is scary. In Panama I was once “marooned” for a week (in a rather comfortable place) when a huge weather system caused the river to rise well out of its banks and stay that way. In 1967 I camped by a small pond in the Panamint Mountains, a safe camp - well above the canyon floor (photo above). That night (July 14-15) a horrendous thunder storm rolled through, soaking my tent and sleeping bag in moments. I wadded up my camp and walked a hundred feet to the truck, threw the soggy mess into the back and climbed into the cab. Being young and immortal I drifted off to sleep quickly, waking only when a lighting bolt came to ground near by, and sleeping as well as one can in the cab of a truck. At dawn, the sun actually rose, the storm was gone, and so was any sign that the pond, trees, and other vegetation at my camp site had ever existed. The gravel, sand, and mud was already solid enough to walk on as I conducted a futile search for something green. It was enough for me to question whether I was really immortal.
Years of whitewater rafting in paddle rafts, in big water, have taught me that raging water is going to do just about anything that it wants to do, and there is not much you can do about it - except go with the flow. Having each of your arms and legs
pulled in a different direction by powerful eddies shakes you to the core. When you are being swept downstream by a torrent there is little rational thought.
At a public meeting earlier this week public officials did a good job of scaring some people very completely. If you live in Hillsboro, in an old stream bed, you should expect to be flooded periodically. What is different now, of course, is that the fire has burned much of the vegetation which slows the runoff and helps the soil absorb large amounts of water. In places some of the soil either vitrified or is well on the way to that state. As a result, more water will run off the mountain and be funneled down the stream beds.
The stream channels between Kingston and Hillsboro have been cleared over the last few years. As a result the water will be less impeded than in the past. More will get here, and it will get here more quickly and more forcefully. How much and how fast is something we will have to wait and see together.
No one can guarantee that there will or will not be flash floods this year. The chances that there will be one, in say Hillsboro, are increased by the fire - but it is far from certain that one will occur.
There are somethings to remember about water and flash flooding:
Generally, when it happens you have time to get out of the way and not much else;
As little as 2 feet of rushing water can carry away a full size SUV; During the 30 years prior to 2005, more people died annually (on average) from flash floods than from lighting, tornadoes, or hurricanes. But still that average is only 127 people a year. (If you are one of the 127 that figure is significant, but statistically those are great odds);
Most deaths from flash floods are vehicle related. Don’t drive into flooded areas (the road may not even be there any more), and if your vehicle is swept away your best chance is to get out of it (but a best chance may not be that great); There are sometimes big events, killing many people;
The National Weather Service is quite good about notifying people when there is a chance of flash flooding - web sites, interruptions of TV and radio service, and sometimes more local warning systems are employed. It issues both Flash Flood Watches when conditions indicate a flash flood is possible and Flash Flood Warnings when flash flooding is occurring or appears imminent.
iN MEMORY OF THE GRANITE MOUNTAIN HOTSHOTS
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