After being pummeled by Tropical Storm Priscilla’s remnants over the weekend, Southwest Colorado is in for another round of heavy rain Monday as Tropical Storm Raymond arrives.
Weekend rains prompted the evacuation of about 390 homes in northern Vallecito after up to 5 inches of rain fell locally, pushing Vallecito Creek to 7,200 cubic feet per second and triggering widespread flooding in the area.
“We are right in the bulls-eye again from this new tropical storm,” said La Plata County spokeswoman Sarah Jacobson.
On Monday, Gov. Jared Polis declared a disaster emergency for western Colorado to bolster response and recovery efforts. According to the governor’s release, the declaration activates the State Emergency Operations Plan and authorizes the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to take necessary actions – up to an initial $1 million in costs.
“The Governor has been monitoring the situation closely and State public safety leaders have been in close contact with local emergency management about this unprecedented weather event,” the statement said.
Jacobson said the flooding in Vallecito damaged many homes that had been evacuated. She said residential propane tanks, septic systems, water supplies, roadways and trees were likely affected – creating a highly hazardous environment.
Jacobson said residents will receive reentry kits and bottled water once they are allowed to return home. She also announced that a briefing will be held at 6 p.m. Monday at Bayfield Intermediate School to inform evacuees what to expect during reentry.
La Plata County Sheriff’s Sgt. Chris Burke urged drivers to remain alert for flooding and debris on roads. With the rainstorm approaching, Burke said the department expects more flash-flooding.
“We ask that you don’t try to drive through any debris, standing water or any water flow and to leave a little bit earlier than expected for any delays,” Burke said.
Roads that may be experiencing flooding include:
- East Animas Road (County Road 250)
- County Road 203
- La Posta Road (County Road 213)
- Buck Highway (County Road 521)
- County Road 501
“We have a lot of roads in that evacuated area that are just impassable because the streams have jumped their normal route,” Jacobson said. “Roads that were a road on Friday – now you can't even tell it's a road. It looks like a stream, with rapids and everything.”
According to a Monday news release from La Plata County, these roads include: Ponderosa Homes Road, Ponderosa Homes Drive, West Grimes Road, West Vallecito Creek Road and River Bed Road.
Road and Bridge crews are working to repair county infrastructure, Jacobson said. Major repairs are underway along County Road 501, and culvert work is planned on Grimes Creek.
A hole on the County Road 501 bridge over Vallecito Creek – between Tucker Lane and Mushroom Lane – was caused by high-water turbulence behind the headwall wingwall. The scouring from the turbulence created a void beneath the bridge about 8 feet deep and 7 feet wide, extending 16 feet back toward the center line of the road.
Repairs on the damaged section of the bridge began Monday morning, and crews hope it will set overnight to allow one-lane traffic to resume Tuesday.
In addition, Road and Bridge crews have completed concrete work on County Road 500, where Grimes Creek began cutting beneath the pavement.
County Road 124 is closed as a result of flooding related issues with a cattle guard about 4 miles up the road, Jacobson said.
Operations at the Durango-La Plata County Airport have continued largely as normal, with only a few minor delays, said Tony Vicari, director of aviation.
The only notable delays have been linked to congestion at Phoenix Sky Harbor, where weather conditions have slowed some flights, he said. Officials expect only minor delays, if any, over the next two days.
According to National Weather Service meteorologist Kate Abbott, 2 inches of rain are expected over much of the region, with some localized areas seeing up to 4 inches.
“Over the next 24 hours here, we’re expecting widespread rainfall totals of 2 inches, with local peaks up to 4 inches,” Abbott said. “The southern San Juans is where we’ll see the highest rainfall totals and the biggest impacts from the rain.”
Abbott explained that weather systems like Priscilla and Raymond are rare in this region and this time of year. They are both tropical storms that came in warm and carried lots of moisture, producing massive amounts of rain.
“These types of weather systems are certainly more rare and the impacts are a lot larger given the tropical moisture held within them,” Abbot said. “Conditions have to be just right in order to get some of that tropical moisture up into the Four Corners. A month later, and this could have been mostly snow, but we've had warm enough air to have most of this fall as rain here.”
Abbott said this rainfall falls outside of the typical monsoonal pattern. Additionally, temperatures are expected to dip later in the week, meaning any precipitation that falls will fall as snow.
The incoming wave of precipitation follows a major storm from last weekend that caused river levels to peak and triggered flooding.
In addition to Vallecito Creek’s heightened flows, other rivers in the area experienced record water levels, according to National Weather Service flow data. The Animas River surged from 581 cfs at 12:01 a.m. Saturday to 4,820 cfs at 1 a.m. on Sunday.
The next precipitation event is expected to exceed those levels, according to Colorado Basin River Forecast Center. The Animas is forecast to top out at 5,450 cfs at 11 a.m. Tuesday while the San Juan River in Pagosa Springs could reach 6,810 cfs.
Vallecito Creek and a section of the Los Pinos River above Vallecito Reservoir could jump to above 3,000 cfs, according to the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center. NWS meteorologist Gillian Felton said the agency is keeping a close eye on those two creeks.
“The evacuation area on Saturday was primarily north of the reservoir,” Felton said. “But now it’s expanded so it’s that area to the northeast-ish part of the reservoir.”
Abbott said as Tropical Storm Raymond passes over the San Juans on Monday and into Tuesday, residents should watch for flooding, especially if thunderstorms or intense rain develop. The ground throughout the county is already so saturated from recent rains that it is unable to absorb any more water, meaning that flooding is more likely, Abbott explained.
“All of that heavy rain that fell over Friday, Saturday and into Sunday morning produced flooding because the soils got saturated, and all of the rainfall on top of that saturated soil ended up flowing into the creeks and streams and rivers and and culverts,” Abbott explained.
Abbott said that with this incoming wave of moisture, overnight flooding could become an especially dangerous issue.
“The biggest concern is that these streams and rivers are going to rise overnight (Monday night),” Abbott said. “We’re more concerned about nighttime flooding, which can be a little bit more dangerous than daytime flooding because you just can’t see what’s happening at night.”
Abbott said if residents are located near low-lying streams or rivers, they should take extra precaution and get themselves to higher ground before nighttime.
“Expect those peaks to happen early (Tuesday) morning before the sun comes up,” she said.
The town of Pagosa Springs lifted the emergency evacuation orders Sunday for Pagosa Springs residents on Hermosa Street and San Juan Street east of Hot Springs Boulevard on Saturday, according to a news release.
U.S. Highway 160 through downtown Pagosa, at the San Juan River bridge, was declared safe and reopened to regular traffic.
Town officials declared the flooding a local disaster on Saturday, as swelling of the San Juan River caused widespread damage to roads, bridges, culverts and other public infrastructure. The declaration will remain in place through the rest of the week.
Pagosa emergency response officials could not be immediately reached for comment Monday.
The number of homes and residents evacuated remain unclear, but according to Jacobson, the Archuleta County emergency shelter was closed to conserve American Red Cross Resources. Two response workers were sent to assist at the Bayfield emergency shelter.
This article has been made available free of charge to all readers in the interest of public safety.
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
jbowman@durangoherald.com
