A day to clean up remnants of the great flood that washed through Dead Man’s Flats will take place this summer.
MD of Bighorn council approved a motion to authorize the Friends of Kananaskis Country to clean up debris left by the 2013 flood that washed into the hamlet.
“We want to pull together to restore the community. A one-day blitz with an anticipated 40-80 people,” said Derek Ryder, chairmen of Friends of Kananaskis Country.
“We believe it is a good opportunity for community building and to engage the community and local businesses to clean some of the material up … We’ll try to be as least disruptive as we can.”
A target date is being set for a Saturday in August.
Ryder showed more than 100 photos to council of the junk that calls the hamlet home since the flood.
Most of the debris is believed to have been picked up from nearby Thunderstone Quarry in the sudden rush of alpine floodwater and carried down Pigeon Creek and over the Trans-Canada Highway into the hamlet.
A mix of various junk, such as wood pallets, washed up on properties in Dead Man’s such as Pigeon Creek condos and land adjacent to Copperstone Resort, among other spots.
Friends of Kananaskis Country also made a request to council to assist in trucking away the junk.
Councillors showed reservation when the potential funding issue was presented.
Councillor Paul Ryan was OK with the cleanup, but not the fund implications.
Coun. Erik Butters asked if the Friends knew an approximate cost for the removal.
“Are we getting ourselves into one dump truck or 20?” asked Butters.
Cost predictions from Friends of Kananaskis Country weren’t certain at this time.
Friends of Kananaskis Country will likely approach local businesses and industry for junk removal funds.
