Big Weekend In Colfax County - Floods

In the past I've alluded to being a first responder and little .gov employee. To clarify, my full position is Colfax County Emergency Manager.

We had what we call a significant flood event down here over the weekend. The news is covering the boy scout ranch and the kid that was killed in the flood. What they are not covering is that HWY 64 between Cimarron and Eagle Nest was closed all weekend from the same flood. Rockslides and overflows took out half the highway, complete sections were under flowing water. Several hundred folks were trapped in the state park and the village of Ute Park. This ontop of the flooding at Philmont that took out a huge amount of trails, cabins, equipment and displaced hundreds of boy scouts. Plus the secondary and tertiary SARs that took place throughout the weekend. I could go on, but you get the point. And guess who got to be IC for this whole enchilada. That's right kids, this guy. Truthfully, I am very happy the media didn't bother us. Those folks add a whole nother level of "fun" to any event. All said, the highway is reopened. We have lost a lot of infrastructure and got our work cut out for ourselves. We lost a kid, which words fail me even now. (I'm pissed, I'm heartbroken, I'm many things) On the good side, our other casualty figures are light. Some bumps and bruises, and emotinal trauma, but all survivable. Sadly the scouts that were swept away were camping well away from the river, in what can normally be considered a safe area. It just shows how this flood was signifigantly larger than anything we have experienced in our recorded history. We had a flood event in 1904 that was everything the equal of this, but most of the effected areas from this weekend were unoccupied back then, so data on what happened in those areas is nonexistant.

I tell you all this because you are my friends here. I don't do this job for thanks and praise. So don't worry about me, but please keep your thoughts and prayers for the family of that 14 year old, the survivors and families, and for the countless other agencies* that helped to get us through this weekend.


*NM State Police
Colfax County Sheriffs Office
Cimarron PD
Village of Cimarron
Village of Eagle Nest
Philmont Scout Ranch
NM State Highway Dept.
Cimaron Canyon State Park
NM State Engineers Office
Ute Park Fire
Eagle Nest Fire
Cimarron Fire
Philmont Fire
Miami Fire
Raton Rapid Response Fire

and probably a half dozen other folks that I'm forgetting right now. Thanks for letting me vent.

I've had the pleasure of going to Philmont several times during my Scout career. The camp covers a huge area and the Scout population is huge during the summer.
I pray for the Scouts and first responders affected by the floods and hope the camp recovers quickly. Thank you for position during this crisis.

I was at Philmont when I was 2, as my dad was the Camp Doctor that season. I don't remember much of it, but I have some 8mm movies of it.

Philmont was a big thing when I was a scout. Never got to go.
Sad event.

Floods are frightening in their swiftness and unpredictability. First responders deserve massive respect for what they do- I can't imagine the emotional and mental toll that they (and you) must go through during such an emergency.

You're a good man doing a tough and mostly thankless job. First responders, EMS and SAR personnel rarely get the credit they deserve. Cheers.

Good luck with the cleanup/recovery. We'll be thinking of you and the others with you.

I did Philmont in the early 90's .... was a great time .



Sad about the losses.... :-/

My first trip to Phimlont was 1978. I going back at the end of July.

Thank you for your effort and thanks to all of the responders.

Mike

I've been to Philmont several times, and lead several crews.

Thank you for doing something that many won't.

Thanks for the additional info. The news about the Scouts being swept away had me confused as any Scout going to Philmont should have been trained time and time again about assessing camping spots for potential of flash floods. It helps hearing just how severe the flooding was. My best guess on the campsite was somewhere near Cimarroncito?

The camp was in the north country. In fact, multiple camps were affected. As you can imagine, there is a lot I can't share with you. Both with my current position and the fact that I have great respect for Philmont. My family has been rooted in this region since before the United states was a thing. I am also a 3rd generation Philmont employee. In fact if you were on a horse there in the 90's, chances are you saw me.

The high water mark at the campsite was 16 feet. Their tents were 60 feet from the normal stream side. If you do the math, you'll realize just how much water there was. Way outside the 100 year flood chance. At another camp, a 16x25 foot cabin was lifted and moved 20 feet. It was only 20 because it got wedged in between a large tree and a sunken propane tank. The single occupant gave a very interesting account. The devastation from this event is astounding.

I've also spoke with the staff at the camp with the fatality. Say what you want about the BSA and their recent policies, but those young men and women are prime examples of the caliber of individual that scouting can produce. Those college kid performed some amazing acts of heroism that saved dozens of lives at that and other camps during this flood. Many times I'm pretty pessimistic about the future, but those kids moved me to tears as I listened to their accounts of their actions.

Tomorrow I'll get you some pics of the canyon flooding, can't release the Philmont stuff, but take my word. It was bad beyond belief but the efforts of those kids kept it from being a true horror story. Not only did they pull multiple people from the water, but their warning saved countless others downstream.

Here's a couple of shots from the weekend

These guys here are standing on material 14 feet above the normal stream bed. There used to be lotsa guard rails on that section, it spanned both sides of the road for the extent of this picture. You can see the 50' on the left, that's all that survived. The rock in the center is all new. Used to be a deep channel here.

http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/...psvb1xymgd.jpg

Couldn't move this rock with the loader. Ended up ordering up a dozer, (on the left) still couldn't get it across the highway, so it got rolled along the shoulder for 300 yards to a place where we could push it off.

http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/...psjq5asbty.jpg

This little rocks were everywhere. 8 miles worth of road with dozens of them. Good work for that dozer.

http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/...psosqbvlgc.jpg

The rockslide in this one blocked the river. 4' of running water rushed over the highway on the right. Once we cleared the slide and bermed the river, we had fish flopping on the roadway. The entire riverbed filled in 2+ feet. Had to dredge it to get the riverbed lower than the road. It was kinda weird walking uphill from the highway to the river.

http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1rifygns.jpg
http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9yhjiiyx.jpg

Thanks again for the additional info. It really puts the tragedy into context. I've been getting discouraged by the sheer stupidity of some of the stuff coming down from National in recent months/years (e.g., treating water guns like real firearms, the idea that making a Scout sing or do something to get back gear he left lying around is "unkind", etc.) but it sounds like the staff there at Philmont reacted exactly as we'd want Scouts to.