Albany County Preparedness Keeping Laramie River at Bay

The flood preparations made by the City of Laramie and Albany County have been worth it thus far as no levies have yet to be breached according to Chuck Murrieta, the Albany County Emergency Management Agency spokesman, even though the Laramie River has been in the flood stage since Sunday.

"The Laramie River in Laramie is experiencing minor flooding, so the river has expanded from its' banks. But to my knowledge no infrastructure has been damaged, we've not had the need to call in any volunteer workforce, we do have volunteers on standby...but as of right now everything has remained relatively quiet and we hope our preparedness efforts pay off."
-Chuck Murrieta

Murrieta says the Laramie River is currently at about 5.4 feet of depth with a flow of about 2,000 cubic feet per second and is predicting the river to remain in the minor flood stage around five and a half feet through the weekend. The hope is that with irrigation being encouraged and levels being continually monitored, the river will stay at its' current stage for a while as the snowpack continues to melt.

Residents are encouraged to stay away from all rivers, creeks and streams. Murrieta warns that even though the water is not very deep, it is flowing very quickly which makes it easy to be swept away. The flood warning for Albany County is still in effect until further notice.

If you are interested in volunteering, contact Beth Young at byoung@co.albany.wy.us to be put on standby. Instant flood updates are available by calling the Information Hotline at 721-5300.