|
The following article appeared in the High Timber Times Vol. 7 #22 Thursday June 2, 1983
Car saves dam, stops flood
By Jacque Scott
There’s a car sticking out of a dam on the Davis Angus Ranch near Conifer-it was put there to prevent a flood, and it worked.
The crisis began Saturday, May 28. Water was rising everywhere in the county, but on the Davis Angus Ranch near Shaffer’s Crossing two miles off U.S. Highway 285, water began undercutting an earthen dam, one of four on the property. The breached dam was a diversion structure which allows water to flow into three lower reservoirs.
About 1 p.m. Saturday, the diversion dam broke and water was flooding into the lower reservoirs causing water to spill over the top of the first reservoir dam, said ranch caretaker Don Whetsel. In Whetsel’s opinion, the lower dams would not have been able to handle the amount of water flowing into them.
“If the first reservoir would have washed out, all would have been gone,” Whetsel said. “And it would have flooded all the way down to 285.
The Whetsels were joined by neighbors, Elk Creek Volunteer Fire Department, area Water Commissioner Ken Salser, Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies and Colorado highway crews. All worked into the night to save the structure and prevent life-threatening flooding from Elk Falls to Sphinx Park.
They tried placing timbers and bales of hay in the breached dam to stop the flow of water into the lower dams, “but each time the water pressure would build up and push it out,” Whetsel said.
Determined to plug up the hole, the group got a tractor and pushed Whetsel’s daughter’s car into the opening. It was big enough and strong enough to hold while bales of hay were thrown in and then covered with dirt, he said. His daughter Christina’s car which was sacrificed “hat to be fixed any way,” he said matter of factly. It reportedly needed a starter.
But, both Whetsel and his daughter believe the loss of the car was little compared to the possible damage should the lower dams have failed and flooded homes in the valley.
Is the care a total loss? “Absolutely. It will never be recovered. But it is cheap compared to the cost if the dams had failed, “he reiterated.
This week the experience was a lively topic of conversation but Saturday it was very serious business. “I was a nervous wreck,” Whetsel recalled. “It didn’t really set in until after it was all over. Then my knees were shaking my hands were shaking. It wasn’t until about 7 that night we figured it would hold. We kept checking it all night, not much else you could do; your nerves wouldn’t let you do anything else.”
“We’re not taking any more chances. I’m draining the lakes-all of them-draining them dry, absolutely no water. My nerves wouldn’t handle another one.
Elk Creek Fire Chief Jef Fleener said about 20 volunteers helped, including warning residents from Elk Falls to Sphinx Park the dams might break. Most people voluntarily evacuated; no forced evacuations were ordered, the fire chief said.
Park County loaned 300 sandbags to Elk Creek in case they were needed to reinforce or close the breached dam, Fleener said. But, the sandbags were returned to Park County Tuesday, unused. The car had worked instead.
North Fork Volunteer Fire department was informed of the situation and aided in warning the residents of the potential problem.
Volunteers continued to check water levels through the night and continued at regular intervals until Tuesday morning, Fleener said.
People were willing to help-they worked well,” Fleener said. “It was a potentially a life threatening situation. Don Whetsel is a member of the Wheat Ridge Historical Society and is a valuable asset for his knowledge about ranch life. His experiences growing up on a farm in South Dakota, that did not have electricity and was heated by a wood stove, gave him knowledge that few will ever have. It is so much fun to listen to his reminisces about his childhood. You would think he was born before the Civil War! Stop by some day and chat with him. We promise you will hear some great stories.
|
