Heavy rains temporarily closed three miles of Highway 230 near the Wyoming community of Woods Landing Thursday afternoon.

The Albany County Sheriff's Office and the Wyoming Department of transportation responded to the washed out highway, officially closing it at just after 2:30, Thursday afternoon.

Wyoming Department of Transportation maintenance engineer, Tim McGary said that the westbound lane closure followed a period of intense, widespread thunderstorm activity in Southeastern Wyoming and into portions of Colorado.  Small stream flooding in Albany County, near Woods Landing, was in the burn area of the 2012 Squirrel Creek fire.  "Mud, rocks, trees, debris, you name it came down," said McGary, saying the recently burned area was ripe for heavy runoff.

The roadway was closed for just under two hours, with WYDOT maintenance forces clearing the area using a loader, a plow and men with shovels.  The same stretch of highway is currently undergoing maintenance, replacing roadside guardrails.

Eyewitness reports several area back roads and private driveways remained impassable

A road closure sign blocks access to Fox Creek Road, Thursday night.
A road closure sign blocks access to Fox Creek Road, Thursday night.  (Trevor T. Trujillo, Townsquare Media)
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as of 9:00, Thursday night.  Fox Creek Road, a connecting through way from the Woods Landing area to other communities like Albany and Centennial were blocked with road closure barriers at sunset.

The witnesses go on to say that the Laramie River, which passes next to the Woods Landing Dance Hall was running bright orange during the storm, due to run off of red soil in the area.

Some light flooding of homes and businesses in the area were also reported, however these reports could not be officially confirmed at the time of this writing.

 

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