New Creek Found At Site Of Massive Mudslide Near Collbran Raises Threat Level
COLLBRAN, Colo. (CBS4) - There are concerns over the stability of a mountainside in western Colorado. A year ago it gave way and three people below were killed.
The 3-mile long slide happened east of Grand Junction and the town of Collbran on the Grand Mesa. The slide zone is so massive it can be seen on current Google maps.
On Sunday emergency officials in Mesa County raised the threat to Level 1, the lowest level that means organizations should "get ready" to take emergency actions. The highest is Level III.
While no formal notices have been sent to residents who could be impacted, the threat of another disaster in that area is real, and county leaders don't want to take any chances.
"So Mesa County is now underneath a somewhat heighten sense of awareness," said Timothy Hayashi, Mesa County Department of Public Works Senior Engineer.
The threat is due to a newly-discovered stream that formed just down the debris field from where a natural dam has been blocking up creek water that was created when the landslide happened last year. Now the concern is that natural dam will break, releasing a potentially dangerous torrent downstream towards homes and businesses in the Collbran area.
"With this recent spring that we've had, it's been so wet, I would say that I'm on the other end now saying, 'Yeah, it may actually spill this year,' " Hayashi said.
Engineers and other experts are collecting information from the landslide, monitoring stations are in place, and local emergency managers have a contingency plan ready for if the natural dam spills over.
"This is a hazard, it's going to be a hazard, it will be a hazard until it moves again," Hayashi said.
It's one year later and one of the largest and most powerful natural events in Colorado may still not be finished.
The three men who were killed were checking on problems with an irrigation ditch caused by an initial slide on May 25, 2014 when a large chunk of a ridge broke off, sending soggy earth spilling like wet cement for 3 miles. The slide was about three-quarters of a mile across and several hundred feet deep at the center.
The men were Clancy Nichols, 51, who worked as a county road and bridge employee; his son Danny Nichols, 24; and Wes Hawkins, 46, who worked for the local water district.
Now teams will continue monitoring the slide area. If they do detect more movement or new water flows they will then have to make a decision to raise the treat level higher.
