River Turns Brown as Flash Floods Hit Colorado High Country
Flash flooding in much of Colorado’s high country on Tuesday, August 3, had a dramatic effect on the color of the Fryingpan River in Basalt, Colorado.
The National Weather Service issued a flash food alert for Pitkin County Wednesday morning and warned that wildfire burn scar areas were at an increased risk of flooding.
Video by Basalt resident Barry Stevenson shows the confluence of the Fryingpan River and the larger Roaring Fork River.
The brown water of the Fryingpan River is seen in stark contrast with the Roaring Fork River, as the two-toned water masses flow side-by-side before fully mixing several hundred yards downstream.
Stevenson attributed the brown water to burn scar runoff and compared the scene to Willy Wonka’s famous chocolate river. Credit: Barry Stevenson via Storyful
