Southwest Colorado takes stock and picks up the pieces after another round of devastating flooding

After record flooding, many swollen rivers in southwest Colorado are beginning to recede. But rebuilding after the historic floods and the damage they caused could take a long time. Roads remain impassable in much of the region, and Pagosa Springs is largely cut off from the rest of the state, with only one rural highway leading from the city into New Mexico.

The Rio Blanco River flooded much of the Last Resort at the River Campground outside Pagosa Springs. Some families who live there full time have been forced to abandon their caravans. Homeowner Brandi Webb described talking to a young boy who was upset about having to run away from home.

He told her, “This is her happy place,” she said, starting to choke up. “And for him not to be in his happy place, it’s heartbreaking. It’s scary for everyone.”

The swirling brown water consumed all of the campsites along the Webb River and flooded three of the park’s structures. She estimates she had to repay about $5,000. Although being a riverside campground is usually a selling point, this flood gave it another perspective on the usually slow-moving Rio Blanco.

Courtesy: Brandi Webb

Mitch Tobin for CPR News

“It leaves you in awe of how quickly things can change and the power of water itself,” she said.

The nearby San Juan River reached nearly 17 feet, its highest level since 1911. This followed a previous round of disastrous flooding that hit southern Colorado just over a week earlier. On Saturday, Governor Polis requested federal disaster funds for these floods.

The Red Cross opened three evacuation shelters in the region.

Roads and bridges washed away

In downtown Pagosa Springs, floodwaters washed away soil beneath the Pagosa Springs Museum and forced the closure of a bridge. US 160 is closed on either side of the small town.

To the west, floodwaters damaged a bridge over the San Piedra River so badly that the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is calling it a “bridge failure.” They won’t have a viable bridge for a week or two.

Courtesy: Colorado Department of Transportation

The state and local highways that crisscross southwest and south-central Colorado are critical to this region, said Lisa Schwantes, public information officer for CDOT.

“It’s how we move our freight, our supplies, our medical needs. It’s how we attract our tourists and our visitors who visit the area – it’s a huge savings for us,” she said, adding that roads are also vital for getting hay and livestock to the many farming communities that dot this part of the state.

Wolf Creek Ski Area, which opened on Halloween, was temporarily closed due to impassable roads.

Courtesy: Colorado Department of Transportation

Road crews are working hard to clear US 160, as well as US 550 outside of Hermosa, US 285 north of Monte Vista, Colorado State Highway 112 north of Del Norte, State Highway 17 west of Antonito and State Highway 151 south of Chimney Rock.

“We’re trying to get them open as quickly as possible, even if it’s on one lane of alternating traffic, so we can keep travelers and our residents moving through our area,” Schwantes said.

Farther west, flooding from the Animas River hit Durango hard, with water flowing at nearly 13,000 feet per cubic second, about 50 times the usual flow. Photos shared with CPR News show homes and yards filled with several feet of water and mud.

Source: La Plata County Sheriff’s Office

Mitch Tobin for CPR News

However, some areas that were bracing for terrible impacts were largely spared. The entire community of Manassa, which was flooded last week, was ordered to evacuate. The owner of a local restaurant, however, said he and many other residents had decided to stay and that business was essentially continuing as usual.

In the small town of Mancos, residents and merchants fortified historic buildings with sandbags against the river of the same name. On Sunday, John Bradford was in the basement of the building that houses the Sun Dog Gallery, which he manages. As the river rose, “you could hear the water splashing over the side of the wall,” he said.

Only a small portion of the “really dark, muddy water” seeped inside, Bradford continued. On Monday, he was busy cleaning off a few inches of mud.

“We were really lucky,” he said.

Forecast for the rest of the week

The National Weather Service predicts rain will mostly cease across the region. A fast-moving storm could blow into higher elevations on Wednesday, bringing snow and light rain, but meteorologist Gillian Harrison said it was not expected to lead to additional flooding.

“Many of our rivers of concern in southwest Colorado … are gradually decreasing over the next several days,” she said.

This is good news for residents and business owners trying to return to normal life after several consecutive floods. The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, whose tracks from Durango to Hermosa were damaged by floodwaters Sunday, said service should resume normally once winter trains start running later this month.

In Pagosa Springs, campground owner Webb is comforted by the mutual support of her community. People check on their neighbors, offer help – and ask for it, too.

“I see an overwhelming number of neighbors reaching out to me and saying, ‘Hey, here’s my wifi. Who can watch my goats? Who can help me with my horses?’ And people are responding,” she said. “Even though we feel isolated, we know we are not alone.”