The first flooding event of the season occurred in Huntington Canyon on July 10. Many interested parties went to the newly constructed debris basin just below the forest service boundary to check on how well the basin was going to work.
As the rain came down and the logs were floating down the river, the logs gathered at the large teeth below the causeway. These teeth held back the logs and debris. The water behind the logs began to back up and eventually to spill over the spillway. The spillway has two tiers and is filled with giant boulders cemented into place with grout.
Further up the canyon at the Left Fork campground a giant log jam was stopped and built up where the Left Fork runs under SR-31 and joins the Right Fork of the Huntington River.
A large mud flow crossed SR-31 closing it for one day. The debris was two feet thick across the road. Other smaller debris flows came across the road in other places. The largest came out of Summerhomes Canyon.
Most of the people seemed happy with the performance of the debris basin. The Army Corp. of Engineers has not yet issued a permit for the lower sediment basin to be constructed. This lower basin will catch sediment so it doesn’t flow down into irrigation works in the valley below.
Flows in the Huntington River were a dark murky brown. Samples of the water were taken so they can be evaluated to see how much ash is coming down the river in these flood events.
First Huntington Canyon flooding event of season
"A giant log jam builds up at the bottom of the Left Fork of the Huntington River. The logs stop at the place where the Left Fork goes under the road and joins the Right Fork of Huntington River. The logs are pressing against the bridge."