April 12, 2022 |
During the flood scares of 2010 and 2011 in Saratoga, when the North Platte River crested at 10.16 and 10.49 feet, Town Hall sent out urgent requests for “all hands on deck.” People were needed urgently to fill sand bags. The operation was labor intensive and slow. One person manned the shovel, the other a bag. That kind of operation is a relic of the past.
Last Thursday Carbon County Emergency Management hosted a demonstration of the speed bagger that it bought last year. The unit attaches to a skid steer. Using the unit, three people can fill up 500 sandbags in an hour. The county’s emergency management coordinator said the demonstration went smoothly.
Pictured above: Sandbags staged in Saratoga in 2019. Photo by Jim O’Reilly/Bigfooot 99.
Layman said about 15 people were on hand including Saratoga Mayor Creed James and Public Works Director Jon Winter. Also taking part in the training session were members of Carbon County Road and Bridge and WYDOT employees.
According to a Memorandum of Understanding entered into earlier this year between the Town of Saratoga and the Carbon County Office of Emergency Management, the sandbagger will be housed in Saratoga and used in conjunction with the town-owned skid steer.
The MOU lays out the terms of the agreement of using the county-owned sandbagger with the town-owned skid steer. The contract defines the responsibilities of both the town and the county in case of flooding in another town, such as Elk Mountain or Baggs.
Saratoga Town Councilman Jon Nelson read through several sections of the MOU verbatim and then boiled it down the legalese in layman terms.
Nelson said the intent of the MOU was one of mutual cooperation for help during flooding emergencies.
Flood season is approaching. Layman told Bigfoot 99 yesterday that the necessary people have been trained up and the unit is ready for action if needed.
The potential for flooding on the North Platte River this spring is low. The latest water supply outlook, published last week by the state hydrologist, puts water flows at around 85 percent of median. The outlook takes into account current snowpack levels and long range forecasts for precipitation.
Of course, it’s only mid-April and anything can happen between now and runoff season.
Watch the Sandmaster in action:
Related: County looks to get ahead of floods with new sandbag equipment
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