When Retired U.S. Navy Colonel Andy Knights made an urgent call to Geovert's Denver headquarters, the situation demanded immediate action. New Mexico had just experienced its largest recorded forest fire in state history, with 341,745 acres of Santa Fe National Forest reduced to ash in the Gallinas Canyon region. The immediate concern wasn't just the devastating loss of forest - it was the cascade of environmental threats that would follow.
The Looming Threat: Post-Fire Debris Flows
With monsoon season approaching, the scorched earth posed an unprecedented risk. The fire had destroyed not only the forest but all underlying vegetation, leaving the soil structure desperately exposed. Without the protection of forest canopy, vegetation, and their associated root systems, the scorched earth lay vulnerable, covered only in ash.
The impending risk was twofold. First, initial rains would wash ash into valleys and waterways, forming a surface layer that would create an oxygen-deprived environment. This anoxic condition would make the water supply unusable and devastate aquatic life. Second, as rainfall intensified, it would begin entraining loose material - starting with mud, silts and sands, then escalating to cobbles and boulders. These debris flows would gain momentum downslope, becoming powerful enough to move large boulders and fallen trees, threatening to destroy bridges and critical water infrastructure.
Racing Against Time: Disaster Response in Action
FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers charged Colonel Knights with protecting the town's water supply and critical infrastructure. Understanding the urgency, he called in Geovert's disaster response team, knowing they needed to act before the monsoon season unleashed its full force.
Within days of Colonel Knights' call, Geovert had mobilized engineering and then specialized teams and equipment, leveraging their 25 years of emergency management response and natural hazard mitigation expertise. The team immediately began work on four individual debris flow protection systems, including a challenging 100-foot span system in a live waterway that required concurrent engineering redesign during construction.
Engineering Under Extreme Pressure
The project's tight timeline was dramatically illustrated when one of the systems, installed in a tributary to protect road and bridge infrastructure, was tested almost immediately. The team had just completed the shackling of the ringnet on the last debris flow system—at 95% completion—when a localized thunderstorm struck. By the time the crew completed their 30-minute journey back to Las Vegas, the system had already captured its first debris flow, performing exactly as designed despite not being fully complete.
All Hands on Deck
The project demanded extraordinary commitment from the entire Geovert team. CEO Anthony Teen joined the frontline efforts, reportedly working a 24-hour shift to keep the project on track. As he later reflected, "Our word is our bond, and having been trusted with the responsibility for securing the town's drinking water, there was no way the team were going to take a backward step at any point. We all had each other's backs, and together we were getting this done, full stop."
Engineering Solutions for Critical Infrastructure Protection
The project required deployment of multiple specialized solutions:
Custom drilling equipment for challenging terrain conditions
Lateral anchor installations to secure the barriers
Live waterway protection systems that maintained water flow while preventing debris passage
Rapid-response barrier construction techniques
Advanced debris removal and barrier reconstruction capabilities
Emergency response protocols combined with agile in-field design engineering
Integrated cross-agency collaboration systems
Proven Performance and Ongoing Maintenance
Following the initial installation, the Geovert team has returned multiple times to inspect and maintain the systems after monsoon and debris flow events. These visits involve safely removing captured debris, reinstating the systems, and performing necessary maintenance to ensure continued protection. The 100-foot span system across the primary water course channel has successfully captured multiple full-load events, proving the effectiveness of the design and installation.
Setting New Standards in Emergency Response
This project demonstrated how engineering expertise, decisive action, and cross-agency collaboration can effectively protect critical infrastructure and community resources. The successful implementation under extreme pressure showcases Geovert's ability to execute complex projects while maintaining the highest standards of safety and effectiveness. As climate-related challenges continue to threaten critical infrastructure, the lessons learned from this emergency response continue to inform industry best practices in natural hazard mitigation.
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