Floods Tear Through Southwest Colorado. Polis Declares a 12-County Emergency as Rescuers Pull People From the Water.
Gov. Jared Polis expanded a flood disaster emergency to 12 southwest Colorado counties as about 100 people evacuated and others were stranded.
The facts come first below. My opinion follows in the section marked as opinion.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has expanded a flood disaster emergency to 12 southwest Colorado counties after heavy rain sent rivers over their banks this week, forcing evacuations and helicopter rescues. About 100 people have evacuated and many others are stranded in their homes by floodwaters, his office said, KKTV reported.
Polis first declared the emergency verbally in 11 counties: La Plata, Archuleta, Montezuma, Dolores, Hinsdale, San Miguel, Ouray, San Juan, Mineral, Alamosa and Rio Grande. He then added Conejos County. The declaration unlocks state resources, including unarmed members of the Colorado National Guard, and the state is coordinating with the Southern Ute Indian Tribe on flooding on tribal land, according to KKTV. On Saturday, the Guard said it had deployed 100 members to help with evacuations and search and rescue.
"We are rapidly mobilizing to help our neighbors respond to this emergency," said Brig. Gen. William DiProfio, the Guard's director of joint staff, KKTV reported.
Pagosa Springs takes the worst of it
In Pagosa Springs, the San Juan River peaked at just over 15 feet at the town gauge around 5:30 a.m. Friday and then began to recede, The Pagosa Springs Sun reported. Floodwaters swamped three wastewater lift stations and one pump station, causing sewage spills, and the town urged residents to stay out of the water.
"Everywhere is a disaster," Archuleta County Sheriff Mike Le Roux told the Sun on Friday morning, adding, "It is catastrophic." He described a motor home that was washed down the river along County Road 339 when its driver tried to ford the water, leaving two people and three dogs in the middle of the river. Rope and swift-water rescues were too dangerous, so a Black Hawk helicopter was sent to hoist them out. A later update said the Black Hawk was headed to Stevens Field with people and pets on board, the Sun reported.
By Saturday, conditions were improving. Evacuation orders were lifted for Hermosa and San Juan streets in Pagosa Springs, and U.S. 160 reopened between Pagosa Springs and Durango with one-way alternating traffic through a damaged section, Denver7 reported. A flood watch remained in effect through Sunday morning for parts of southwest Colorado. Other roads, including stretches of U.S. 160 near Wolf Creek Pass, stayed closed.
How to help
The Community Foundation serving Southwest Colorado has activated its Community Emergency Relief Fund for Pagosa Springs and nearby areas. Residents who need help with evacuations, shelters or temporary housing vouchers can call 2-1-1, Denver7 reported. Officials keep repeating one rule: do not drive through floodwaters when you cannot see the road beneath.
Opinion: The best of a small town shows up in a flood
Disasters strip a community down to what it really is. In Pagosa Springs this week, what showed up was crews working through the night, a sheriff giving straight answers, and helicopter crews lowering themselves into danger for two strangers and three dogs. That is a town worth being proud of.
Government did its job here, and it deserves credit for it. Polis moved quickly, and a governor of either party should. The Guard sent 100 members. Town crews, the Sun reported, rotated shifts so they could rest and keep going. Good government in a flood is not glamorous. It is barricades, sewer bypasses and road reports. It worked.
But government is not the whole answer, and it never has been. When the waters rise, the first people at your door are usually your neighbors. Scripture says, "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." Churches in the Four Corners will be needed for months, long after the cameras leave, with meals, muck-out crews and a place to sleep.
Some lessons are hard and simple. Several people needing rescue had not evacuated, the sheriff said. A motor home tried to cross moving water. Those choices put rescuers at risk. The town's warning, "Turn Around, Don't Drown," is not a suggestion. Listen to the warnings, leave when told, and do not wait for the water to make the decision for you.
If you live far away, you can still help. Give to the local relief fund, or to a church or ministry already working there. And pray. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." That has been true in every flood, and it is true in this one.
For more on how this winter's weather could shape the region, read Super El Niño Could Bring Texas a Wet, Cool Winter: What to Know.
