The cities of Durango and Pagosa Springs, along with the town of Vallecito, in Southwestern Colorado, are still tallying up the damage following six days of heavy rain and subsequent flooding that began Oct. 11.
“It's still too early to assess a dollar amount. It's a very fluid number right now,” said Pagosa Springs town manager David Harris.
Emergency responders lifted the evacuation zones Thursday morning for all of 390 affected homes in La Plata County, but said some roads continue to be impassable.
The La Plata County Emergency Operations Center has put together a webpage with FAQs for evacuees with categories for emergency information, what happens when evacuations are lifted, resources for evacuees, recovery information, history of the event and where donations can be made.
Both the Animas River, which runs through Durango, and the San Juan River in Pagosa Springs rose to historic levels during the storms.
The Animas rose more than three feet in a single day, halting trips on the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway, among other infrastructure impacts.
Roughly 30 homes and 100 people in Pagosa Springs were made to evacuate in the initial flood event and several businesses were also impacted. The total damage from this series of storms is still unclear, as crews continue to survey the unincorporated parts of the county.
“We were fortunate that no roads were washed out,” Harris said. “However, we are going to be checking and assessing our bridges to make sure that they are still structurally fine. It should also be noted, we did have a sewer line that was hanging on the first street bridge on US 160. It had a gigantic tree trunk wedged between it and the bridge and some debris came down and ripped that thing down.”
Crews have rigged up a temporary bypass for the sewer line, but officials are still developing a long-term strategy for repairs.
A popular tourist attraction in Pagosa Springs, The Springs Resort, which sits right on the banks of the San Juan, also partially flooded but has reopened. Harris said about 10 of the resort’s 50 or so hot springs pools were covered by the flood waters. According to the resort’s Facebook page, they have since been drained and are being cleaned.
Police in Pagosa Springs say standing water and debris remain in various areas across town, posing ongoing safety risks.
As a precaution, all parks and the surrounding downtown areas along the San Juan River will remain temporarily closed to the public.
Authorities urge all residents and visitors to avoid these areas until further notice.
Harris said the immediate priorities in the recovery process include continuing damage assessment, initiating cleanup efforts, and managing donations and volunteers.
“We see a lot of neighbors helping neighbors and people who are stepping in to help out in the restoration. And for that, we are very grateful,” said Harris.
The Archuleta Community Emergency Relief Fund is now active to support local residents and businesses impacted by recent flooding in Pagosa Springs and Archuleta County.
The fund notes that a hundred percent of its donations stay local, helping neighbors rebuild and recover.
