The 100-yard logjam on the Arkansas River just below Hecla Junction has been cleared. Flash flooding two weeks ago created the massive logjam in lower Browns Canyon.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) says that after the river gradually broke up the blockage shrinking it to about 20 yards. Crews were then able to safely begin clearing a route through it. Nineteen CPW staff members supported clearing operations.
A news release stated that crews used paddles, long poles and other hand tools to pull and loosen debris from along the banks and from large boulders accessed by boat.
“Rather than release the remaining jam as one mass toward the Twin Falls Rapid, crews worked gradually from the edges toward the center, allowing the river to carry away material as it was freed. The work opened a navigable channel along river left.”
