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MOAB — The Bureau of Land Management temporarily closed three more campgrounds near Moab on Friday afternoon after closing several others on Thursday, as a result of rising Colorado River waters in the area.
The agency closed off the Hittle Bottom, Grandstaff and Oak Grove campgrounds at noon Friday for "public safety" reasons, though the Hittle Bottom day-use area and boat ramp are still open. The King's Bottom, Williams Bottom, Jaycee Park, Hal Canyon, Goose Island and Gold Bar campgrounds were all closed off beginning Thursday, as well as the lower section of Drinks Canyon campground.
Bureau officials said additional campgrounds may face similar closures and that the closures will remain in place until the "water level drops." The decision to close the campsite comes while the Colorado River continues to swell as the snowpack in the region melts, plus a few other factors.
The Colorado River by the Utah-Colorado border remains in a flood advisory issued by the National Weather Service's Grand Junction, Colorado, office. The advisory notes that the "combination of warm spring temperatures, potential for periods of rain on snowpack and controlled reservoir releases upstream" are all contributing to high river flows that will linger through at least this weekend.
The Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands noted that the river "exceeded (its) bankfull stage" of 35,400 cubic feet per second on Wednesday, which poses flood damage and safety risks.
The weather service alert advises that, as of Friday morning, the 10-day forecast calls for a maximum of 37,900 cubic feet per second next week, or 13.4 feet. That's above the "action stage" but below the flooding stage for the region, which is 15 feet.
State land management officials advise that people who are recreating in the area should be careful by the water.
"It is important to remember that the mouths of tributary canyons along the Colorado River pose elevated risks from runoff and flash flooding," agency officials wrote Thursday, noting high currents also near the Green River. "Please remember that all boaters — regardless of age — must wear a Type I or III personal floatation device on the Colorado River in the Moab Daily and Westwater Canyon but it's a smart choice to wear a (floatation device) at all times near the water."
