Second Historic Flood in 10 Days Swamps Southwest Colorado; San Juan River Highest Since 1911
The San Juan River at Pagosa Springs reached its second-highest level in 115 years of records Sunday night as a second major flood in ten days forced evacuations and road closures across southwest Colorado and northern New Mexico.
Southwest Colorado is enduring its second major flood in ten days, with the San Juan River at Pagosa Springs reaching 16.8 feet Sunday night, its second-highest level in 115 years of records, behind only the 17.8 feet measured on October 5, 1911.
The Piedra River near Arboles set a new record Sunday night, reaching 17,800 cubic feet per second and breaking the mark it set during the October 22-23 flood. The National Weather Service in Grand Junction issued "Particularly Dangerous Situation" flood warnings for five Colorado counties and one in Utah, writing that "significant and historic flooding is occurring across southwest Colorado and southeast Utah."
Mandatory evacuation orders remain in place for low-lying areas along the San Juan, Rio Blanco, Navajo and Piedra rivers, and Pagosa Springs is closed to incoming traffic. U.S. 160 is shut in both directions between Bayfield and Pagosa Springs, and Colorado 151 collapsed between Chimney Rock and the old mine site, in the same stretch that washed out last month. Hundreds of homes in the Animas Valley were placed under pre-evacuation preparation orders Monday morning as the Animas River kept rising.
Governor Jared Polis urged residents under evacuation orders to leave immediately. "Do not wait for floodwaters to rise," he said, warning that worsening conditions could make rescue operations dangerous. On Saturday, Polis asked the president for a major disaster declaration for Archuleta and Rio Grande counties from the first flood, after joint assessments found nearly $27 million in eligible public damage in those two counties alone.
The same rivers flooded on October 22-23, and the ground never dried, sending the new rainfall straight into the waterways. The rain is expected to end Monday morning, but downstream flooding continues: the San Juan's crest reaches Shiprock, New Mexico, this afternoon, and major flooding is forecast along the Rio Grande through Wednesday.
(File photo: A house undercut by floodwaters in Jamestown, Colorado, during the September 2013 floods. FEMA photo)