A midvalley conservation group dedicated to water issues warned anglers and others recreating, working or just hanging around area rivers to beware of ice flows and water surges created by warming temperatures.
The ice flows are most likely to occur downstream from Snowmass Canyon and on the lower Fryingpan River, according to Roaring Fork Conservancy. While the water continues to run in the Roaring Fork, ice forms on the top in the narrow, shady sections.
“Following the recent bitter cold snap, temperatures forecast in the 30s and 40s for the next week will melt and loosen ice in local rivers, increasing the potential for ice flows,” the conservancy said in its warning. “Anglers and anyone near or in the rivers this weekend should use extreme caution and be on the lookout for ice flows. Move away from the river and seek high ground in the event of an ice flow.”
The breaking of an ice dam on the Roaring Fork River in a mid-January thaw in 2013 killed numerous fish, swept an angler off his feet and took a beaver on a wild ride. During that event, an ice dam broke up near Lazy Glen subdivision, 2 miles east of Basalt. Ice broke up on the river and piled up in a dam. Additional ice and water created so much pressure that the dam broke.
The angler was caught below the confluence of the Roaring Fork and Fryingpan in 2013. He told an officer he was 10 feet off the bank and couldn’t make it to shore before the water and ice surged knocked him off his feet. He pulled himself out and suffered only cuts and bruises, authorities said at the time. He credited use of a wader belt for keeping him mobile.
A Basalt police officer said during the January 2013 incident that she witnessed ice chunks “the size of Volkswagens” rushing downstream.
Recommended Stories For You
Photographer Lynn Goldsmith captured a photo of a beaver riding an ice chunk in the January 2013 event.
The aftermath of ice flows is always interesting. Because there is a surge of water, ice is deposited on the riverbanks, then left high and dry.