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Show Canyons Identified As Hazardous by Geological Expert Snow-pac- k and detached land materials in Davis County canyons look much worse than a year ago when a sudden warming trend caused flooding and mudslides, says a state geological hazards expert. Bruce Kaliser, chief of the State Geological Hazards Division, warned Davis County officials to be prepared for the worst. in CLEARFIELD - den temperature increases to 10 degrees above normal could trigger heavy spring runoff in the mountains. Shepard Canyon Kaliser said state geological findings show snowpack high in ' water content and a lot of loose rock, soil and steep slopes left from last springs flooding and mudslides. If you had gone up there exactly a year ago, it was nowhere as bad, he said. '- Kaliser said snowpack and moisture conditions in the canyons are worse than they were a year ago, as well as the amount of earth left on the slopes from the slides ,of, last year. He said minor debris slides are starting to occur at lower elevations but are not a hazard. If the snow should melt Farmington Canyon grad- Hornet ually and not in an aggravated manner, it will certainly reduce the hazard from debris flows considerably, Kaliser added. Cqnyon ?teedCanyon . Davis Kaliser also named several Canyon canyons in Davis County containing unstable areas of 5,000 to 100,000 cubic yards which could come down with spring runoff. the higher, elevations, were not yet finding problems because the snow is still there Lone Pine Canvon Ricks The areas, as marked on U.S. geological maps, are in: Holmes Creek and Webb Canyon, Shepard Creek, Orchard Creek and hasnt really melted yet, he added. State geological department personnel have toured the canyons in the past two weeks and have taken aerial photographs of the canyons. and Barnard Canyon Parrish Canyon Canyon near the Weber Basin Job Corps center, Parrish Creek, ' Steed Creek. Included' in the states efforts is telemetering device recently installed in unstable Rudd Creek Canyon in Farmington. The device would transmit warnings of landslide, in the canyon to the Utah Geological & Mineral Survey and the Davis County Sheriffs Officd Deuel Creek Canyon An unidentified canyon between Ford Canyon and Davis Creek, three in Baer Creek, three in Barnard Creek, two in Stone Creek, three in Holbrook Creek Canyon and Barton Canyon, and three in Centerville Canvon. Stone Canyon Barton Creek Canyon Mill According to Davis County Planning Director Rick May-fielthe canyons indicated by Kaliser are ones the county has been working on with their dollar d, State and Davis County officials agree the weather will play a crucial role in the amount of spring runoff that can trigger flooding and mudslides. Weather Canyon Farmington Canyon, Weber a But Kaliser warned the device still in Jh experimental stage and is unproven is a slide situation. It was working the day be fore yesterday, but whether it will provide us with a warning is yet to be determined, he said. v The weathers going to hurt o is 5B us, especially from April through May, he said. Alder said sud- have not seen anything threatening facilities or homes, but we have seen, wherever there were slides last year, the conditions are worse this year, he said. "The probability is we need to expfect more debris flows' (because as the snowline retreats, its going-tbring more debris At 984 levels. I with it. 1 1 , 1 time last year. Bill Alder, forecaster for the National Weather Service, predicts April and May temperatures will be cooler than normal with above average precipitation in both months. Alder said the forecast is for weather very similar to last years April and May temperatures and precipitation BARRY KAWA Review Staff SALT LAKE CITY Lakeside Review South, Wednesday, April . Creek Canyon multi-mil- lion flood-contr- North ol Canyon Theyre the canyons weve' been working on, he said. In most of those,'"" we have some' kind of debris basin projects. Kaliser said, judging from the current state of the canyons, the efDavis County fort of debris basins and channel very well justified. flood-contr- ol Service figures estimate snowpack along the Wasatch Front is I would say anything a comstill at about 140 percent of for time this of average year, munity has done is likely to j slightly, higher than at. the same., prove. joyC.h?.:tlcited.; : geologists "by.state v. V i. V t. . 1 1. 1, V, who-hav- e V.XVV reported V V W O. -- V VX. that large areas of unstable land were seen in aerial surveys. There have already been several small slides in lower areas of the mountains. In higher elevations, snowpack is still heavy and little land movement has been detected. , 4 tMtittil itimnf iM (WMWWrtWfA? r |