Ash Flows on the Rio Grande River, Colorado
/The monsoon rains brought about a relief to area firefighters who battled the West Fork and Papoose fires. A huge amount of effort was involved in containing this fire and no structures were lost as a result. This in light of it being a total burn area exceeding 110,000 acres in size.
However, the rains have caused a new problem to arise. That of flash floods and ash flows into the rivers and streams. Many of the smaller tributaries to the South Fork and the Rio Grande proper come out of the burned out areas and those are flowing ash and mud and debris down into the rivers. This has caused a horrible distress on the rivers as you can see from the photos.
Area officials all agree the trout will not survive these ash flows due to the heavy sediment in the water. This raises the temperature of the water which trout cannot survive in. Also, the silt will clog up their gills and suffocate them slowly. The rivers are vast living ecosystems and the bug life on the bottom of the river is what sustains the fish. With the introduction of heavy silt and ash, the bugs will all die.
This is what I am being told by all the area managers both fish and wildlife and forest service personnel.
I have never seen a river with this much sediment in it. The water is just not dirty, its thick. I have lived in dirty water states and this is something like I have never seen nor imagined. It reminds me of the pictures we saw following the Mt. St. Helens eruption back in the 80's.
The area hydrologist for the Forest Service project 3 to 5 years of problems due to the fire. So we are in this for the long haul. However, we have seen this happen over and over across the USA and the streams will recover back to their once pristine condition.
In the mean time, there are countless other streams that are not affected by the ash and the lakes remain outstanding for fishing success.
So, don't let one part of the area ruin your outdoors experience. Know that we are all part of a bigger world and that these thing will occur over time. Whether it be hurricanes, tornados, floods or any other natural disaster, we live in and among the dangers and resulting effects but can overcome them with perseverance and determination all the while keeping in sight the journey is much more than just a single event.
Get out there and catch those fish this week as its never been better in the area lakes
