In parts of Durango, streets turned into rivers over the weekend as heavy rain sent floodwaters rushing through residential neighborhoods, forcing evacuations and leaving behind a muddy mess.
The Animas River surged through town Monday morning, reaching 12,900 cubic feet per second. That’s roughly 50 times the river’s typical flow for this time of year and significantly higher than the 11,200 cubic feet per second recorded during the previous storm on Oct. 23.
Bryant Liggett, station manager at KDUR, a community radio station at Fort Lewis College, lives near Needham Elementary School, on the edge of a neighborhood evacuated Sunday. He says the hardest hit part of town was along Junction Creek, just northwest of downtown.
“Yesterday, they evacuated a bunch of houses that run along Junction Creek … maybe a 10-15 block radius that had knee-high water running down the streets. South of Durango High School, it’s just another extension of Junction Creek, running down the street through people’s houses into the Animas River.”
Images of the flooding show dark brownish-red water and debris where asphalt should be. The creek is also near several mobile home parks, many of which were damaged.
Collin Suchecki, park manager at Junction Creek Mobile Home Park in the floodplain, said residents there were evacuated Sunday, but access roads are currently blocked by law enforcement, making it difficult to know the full scope of damage.
“Junction Creek is pretty much a river,” he said. “At this point we need to wait for the water to recede so we can get in there and evaluate.”
Suchecki told CPR News the property is also tied to an excavation company that could help with cleanup once conditions allow.
For Parris Wise, who lives near Junction Creek on 25th Street, the flooding turned frightening in a matter of hours.
By early Sunday afternoon, water was rapidly filling her backyard. She rushed to check on a downstairs neighbor, who was trapped in her basement apartment trying to keep water from coming through the door.
“We could only access her home through the window,” Wise said.
As the rain intensified, the water rose from ankle-deep to knee-high, then waist-high. Wise and her roommates scrambled to move their pets and belongings upstairs.
With no safe way for their downstairs neighbor to escape, they made a desperate decision: tear down a wall that had sealed off an old staircase connecting the two floors.
“There was no other escape route,” Wise said.
They managed to get everyone out, but by evening, floodwaters had reached the garage and damaged the home. Wise and her roommates packed what they could and evacuated to a motel, navigating roads blocked by debris along the way.
When they returned Monday, the damage was overwhelming.
“We lost all our food. We don’t have water supply. Our power source was shut down,” Wise said.
The roommates had moved into the house just two months earlier, pooling their money for a deposit. Now, Wise said, they can’t afford to keep paying for a motel and don’t know where they’ll live next.
“Worst case scenario, we might camp out in there,” she said, referring to her roommate’s car.
About a quarter-mile from another evacuation zone, Bailey Carlson woke Sunday to find rainwater reaching his sidewalk. As runoff poured down from the surrounding hills, he and his neighbors began hauling sandbags and trying to divert the water.
His home stayed dry, but some neighbors weren’t as fortunate. Water flooded yards, garages and basements, leaving behind rocks, branches, silt and mud.
By Monday, residents were already shoveling sidewalks and clearing debris, but Carlson worries about the financial toll the flooding will take on neighbors whose homes were damaged on neighboring Columbine street, an area where waters rose so high, cars were smashing into one another and washing away.
“Housing prices are insane, and a lot of people in this area don’t have flood insurance because we live in a desert and it’s never been like this,” he said. “I worry about the infrastructure of rebuilding these roads and how that’s going to worsen traffic and people’s commutes. And I worry about supplies getting here, because it’s not just Durango that’s affected. It’s New Mexico, it’s Arizona, it’s all of these places that have just been absolutely devastated.”
The flooding prompted widespread disruptions across the region. The airport temporarily suspended operations Sunday night. Meanwhile, Durango schools, including the college, canceled Monday classes. The city also closed several public facilities, including City Hall, the library and recreation center.
La Plata County Sheriff Sean Smith lifted a countywide road closure Monday, but officials warned that many roads remain damaged or impassable, reminding people to check conditions before driving.Some small businesses like Maria’s Bookshop on Main Street also opted to stay closed in an effort to keep streets clear for emergency personnel and ensure employees’ safety.
Officials are warning residents to stay out of floodwaters, even on foot, reminding them that just six inches of fast-moving water can knock an adult off their feet. Murky water can also conceal sharp debris, downed power lines and other hazards. Floodwater can also contain sewage, bacteria and chemicals that pose health risks.
“We know this town loves to play. We ask that you don’t recreate in the river,” said Durango Police Chief Brice Current in a video posted to Facebook. “There were some people who got sick from some of the sewage in the river last week. Right now, we are worried about the bridges. If something comes down the river and hits one of the bridges. The water’s very high right now. We don’t want to create any more emergencies.”
The La Plata County Fairgrounds, along with a local high school were designated as an evacuation shelter for residents forced from their homes.
The flooding has also left businesses outside Durango facing damage and difficult cleanup efforts.
Elizabeth Massey, owner of Greenwood StreetWorks, a company that provides year-round exterior property maintenance across southwest Colorado, said she’s been contacted by roughly 10 businesses affected by the flooding so far.
“Wildcat Canyon Liquors, their parking lot is basically inaccessible,” she said.
Elsewhere, propane tanks have been knocked over, leaving property owners waiting for the propane company to assess the situation before cleanup can begin.
The flooding also disrupted the start of ski season in southwest Colorado. Wolf Creek Ski Area, near Pagosa Springs, closed Sunday, just one day after opening due to the heavy rain and subsequent flooding. The resort said it would remain closed until Archuleta County lifted its mandatory evacuation order.
At River Bend Ranch, a wedding venue north of Durango along the Animas River, owner Tess Bishop said parts of her property were underwater.
“The flood last week didn’t come up quite this high. This time there’s so much debris coming down it’s knocking out our fences,” Bishop said.
The ranch’s buildings sit above the floodplain, and Bishop said a wedding held there last weekend went ahead as planned, but she’s worried about neighbors whose homes and properties sit at lower elevations.
“The valley itself is going to need a lot of help and community,” Bishop said. “There are those below the floodplain that I’m worried about.”
Bishop said she plans to meet with others this week to discuss pooling resources to help neighbors affected by the flooding.
Carlson says he hopes people outside southwest Colorado will recognize the need for additional help, whether through donations, supplies or government assistance.
“Whatever letters can be written, whatever money can be donated, whatever supplies – send it our way, send it to the Navajo Nation, send it to all these places that have been affected because we can only do so much with what we’ve got down here,” Carlson said.
Wise said she’s been struck by how quickly the community has rallied around people affected by the flooding.
She pointed to neighbors helping residents evacuate, the fairgrounds opening as an emergency shelter and local businesses offering free pet food and drinking water.
“I am really proud of this town,” Wise said. “There are really good people here who will have each other’s backs.”
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