September 4, 2024 |
Photo – Photo shows layers of snow – Courtesy mtavalanche.com
The Carbon County Sheriff’s Office received a $65,000 grant to establish an avalanche forecasting center for the Snowy Range and Sierra Madre Mountains.
This past February, Saratoga council member Jacob Fluty was killed in an avalanche while snowmobiling in the Sierra Madre Mountains. Following Fluty’s death, Sheriff Alex Bakken began advocating for better avalanche predictions in Carbon County.
Right now, all avalanche forecasting in Wyoming is done by the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center, which does not cover the Snowy Range and Sierra Madre Mountains.
In April of this year, Sheriff Bakken applied for a $295,000 grant through the Wyoming Department of Recreation to set up a local avalanche forecasting station.
At yesterday’s Board of Carbon County Commissioners meeting, the sheriff said the state rejected his grant request.
All is not lost, said Sheriff Bakken. Thanks to Carbon County Visitor’s Council Chief Executive Officer Leslie Jefferson, the sheriff was able to obtain a $65,000 grant from the Wyoming Office of Tourism.
Sheriff Bakken informed the board that he met with National Avalanche Center Director Simon Trautman. The sheriff said he and Trautman discussed how to best use the grant money.
Sheriff Bakken mentioned that he has also applied for a $50,000 grant from the Wyoming State Trails Program. The sheriff said staffing is the largest expense when operating an avalanche forecasting center. Thanks to Search and Rescue volunteers and a donated vehicle from the U.S. Forest Service, Sheriff Bakken said he plans to use the additional grant money for training and transportation instead of salaries.
Sheriff Bakken said he has arranged to meet with Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center Director Frank Carus next week.
The Board of Carbon County Commissioners thanked both Sheriff Bakken and Visitors Council CEO Jefferson for working to establish an avalanche forecasting center in our area.
