June 20, 2024 |
Photo – Allred and Layman with one of the precipitation monitors – by Matt Copeland
The Carbon County Office of Emergency Management is installing precipitation monitoring stations in the Mullen burn scar.
In 2020, the Mullen Fire burned over 170,000 acres of southern Wyoming and northern Colorado. The flames destroyed plant life in and around the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest. Without trees and bushes to hold the soil together, the risk of dangerous flood-related debris flows have increased.
In June of 2023, the Board of Carbon County Commissioners authorized Emergency Manager Lenny Layman to team up with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to purchase and install six rain beacons in the Mullen burn scar.
Emergency Manager Layman has been setting up the precipitation monitoring stations in areas where flooding is a major concern. Yesterday morning, Bigfoot99 reporter Matt Copeland joined Layman and Albany County Emergency Manager Kate Allred outside of the town of Albany to deploy an early alert station at the south fork of the Little Laramie River.
Layman said the rain gauges will help the National Weather Service create more accurate weather predictions.
The precipitation monitoring stations are set up in difficult to reach locations where ground proofing the National Weather Service’s forecasts is difficult. Yesterday’s monitor installation began with a short drive down a rocky two-lane road outside of Albany. When the road became impassable due to water, Layman, Allred, and a small team of volunteers hiked pieces of the weather monitor up the side of a steep hill. Once the pieces of the monitoring station was on top of the hill, Layman said he began cutting down burned and dead trees.
The dead trees must be taken down to prevent summer wind from blowing them onto the monitoring beacon. After the trees are cleared, Layman said the team began assembling the early alert station.
The solar-powered weather station stands on a tripod with instruments extending roughly ten feet above the ground. A small bucket electronically measures the amount of precipitation the area is receiving. Layman said the information gathered by the monitoring station is wirelessly broadcast to various state and local agencies.
Yesterday’s installation on the Little Laramie River was the fourth of six monitors. Layman said he will deploy the final two monitoring stations next week.
Layman said the Mullen and Cottonwood Creek early alert stations are the only two physically located in Carbon County. Despite Albany County being more affected by the Mullen Fire, Layman said burn scar related flooding has a direct impact on Carbon County. The emergency manager also thanked A Bar A Ranch Assistant Manager Benjy Duke for proposing the weather monitoring project.
The early alert stations will only remain in flood prone areas of the Mullen burn scar until late fall. Prior to winter, Layman said he’ll take all the precipitation monitors down and redeploy them next spring.
With proper maintenance, Layman said he expects the beacons to last for a decade or more. Layman said his agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration requires the six monitors to be installed at predetermined locations for 24 hours. After one day of service, the precipitation gauges then become the property of the Carbon County Office of Emergency Management. Layman said he can deploy the rain monitors anywhere he chooses for practically free.
Layman said, if necessary, he could position some of the precipitation monitoring stations in the Sierra Madre Mountains. The emergency manager said the Sierra Madres are just as susceptible to fire-related flood damage as the Snowy Range.
Albany County Emergency Manager Kate Allred said she is happy with the current rain gauge locations. Allred thanked Layman for securing the early alert stations.
Both Carbon and Albany Counties will use the data collected by the precipitation gauges to issue earlier warnings when weather conditions indicate the possibility of flooding, giving residents more time to prepare for debris flow.
