Governor Jared Polis has verbally declared a disaster emergency for flooding in 11 counties in the southwest corner of Colorado, authorizing the Colorado National Guard to deploy in support of local officials, the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) said in its October 23 update.
Source: Colorado DHSEM
The declaration covers La Plata, Archuleta, Montezuma, Dolores, Hinsdale, San Miguel, Ouray, San Juan, Mineral, Alamosa and Rio Grande counties, DHSEM said. It engages the State Emergency Operations Plan and authorizes the Guard to use air, ground and engineering assets and unarmed personnel for flood and debris-flow response, evacuation, and search and rescue, as directed by the Colorado Department of Public Safety.
Source: Colorado DHSEM
The State Emergency Operations Center has transitioned to Level 1 operations, with multiple state agencies supporting the response, and the State Recovery Task Force has also been activated at Level 1, DHSEM said. The Colorado State Patrol and DHSEM are coordinating with local emergency managers, while the Colorado Department of Transportation is monitoring road damage and managing road closures.
Source: Colorado DHSEM
Rivers receding in places, roads still impassable
Heavy rainfall and swollen rivers prompted evacuations and road closures across southern Colorado on Thursday night and into Friday morning, Colorado Public Radio reported in an update at 9:15 a.m. on Friday, October 23. Flooding was especially pronounced around Pagosa Springs, where the Archuleta County Sheriff's Office issued mandatory evacuations for low-lying areas along the San Juan, Rio Blanco, Navajo and Piedra rivers.
Source: Colorado Public Radio
"Please SHELTER IN PLACE, water levels are beginning to recede but many roads are IMPASSABLE and unsafe for travel," the Archuleta County Sheriff's Office posted early Friday, CPR reported. All Archuleta School District schools were closed on Friday because of the floods, and flood risk was expected to continue into Friday night in the Four Corners region.
Source: Colorado Public Radio
The Colorado Department of Transportation announced complete closures of Red Mountain Pass and Wolf Creek Pass early Friday, as well as closures between Pagosa Springs and Bayfield and near Antonito, and posted photos of a significant road washout on Highway 550 near Silverton, where a large section of highway shoulder had washed away, CPR reported.
Source: Colorado Public Radio
This is the state-level escalation of a flood event Awaaz Punjab has already covered at Pagosa Springs and South Fork: the governor's order unlocks state resources and National Guard help for 11 counties at once, rather than leaving the response to individual counties.
The National Weather Service office in Grand Junction said flooding would continue even as prolonged rainfall tapered off, and that river levels were receding in places but drivers should stay off roadways because some roads are damaged and unsafe, CPR reported. No deaths were reported in the DHSEM update or in CPR's Friday morning reporting.