Village prepares for flooding in Little Bear Fire wake

Preparations described as "intense" are underway to deal with what is considered inevitable flooding along some streams and rivers because of the burned areas of the Little Bear Fire. In a presentation to Ruidoso village officials on Tuesday, village Utilities Director Randall Camp painted a picture of potential serious damage and possibly injury and death during the monsoon season. While soil seeding and other restoration work on some burn areas already is underway, Camp said the rainy season would trump the efforts. "We're already going to be slammed before that ever takes any kind of an effect," he said of the restoration work. "For a lot of that, especially where it was so hot that the soil was sterilized, it will take a while." Computer modeling, factoring the varying intensities of the fire across the more than 44,000-acre burned area and historic rain data, was assembled last week. The Rio Bonito watershed is the primary concern. The Eagle Creek corridor also could be a problem. "Ski Run Road will probably be washed out several times this summer," Camp said of the road that partially parallels Eagle Creek. "The flood threat is going to be here much longer than the fire threat. The flood threat is the next five years every monsoon season and every time we have a snowpack up on that mountain, we have to worry about the threat of flooding."...more

Damage will continue and continue from the mismanagement of these federal lands.