Heavy rain is why this happened. From Friday into Sunday, a river of tropical moisture streamed from near Hawaii over southwest Colorado — the pattern forecasters call the Pineapple Express — and dropped 8 to 12 inches of rain on the high country above 11,000 feet, on ground still soaked from the destructive floods of the week before. The water ran downhill into the valleys, Junction Creek spilled over its banks northwest of Durango, and by Sunday afternoon La Plata County was in a full flood emergency.
At 2 p.m. on Sunday, the La Plata County Sheriff's Office temporarily closed every county road in the county, citing dangerous flooding and debris flows, and officials said they expected the roads to stay closed all night. County spokeswoman Emily Spencer told residents: "We do expect all county roads to remain closed all night, so residents should shelter in place and stay home tonight." The county said it did not have the resources to physically barricade every road, which made staying off them a matter of public cooperation as much as enforcement.
The rising creek forced evacuation orders at three mobile home parks: Junction Creek Mobile Home Park northwest of Durango, Meadowbrook Mobile Home Park in Ignacio, and Pine Winds Mobile Home Park in Hesperus. Orders also went out for the Durango Regency and North Valley mobile home parks, for Pine River Ranches near Bayfield, for homes north of Lakin Street in Ignacio, and for several residential streets in Durango. At Junction Creek, a sheriff's deputy, Brayton Thurber, carried an infant out of a trailer as the water rose around the homes. Shelters opened at the La Plata County Fairgrounds, Ignacio High School, Bayfield High School, and Vallecito Baptist Church.
Sheriff Sean Smith said his deputies were answering 23 separate flooding incidents across the county, with water more than 12 inches deep in numerous places and flooding reported in Hesperus, Durango, Hermosa, Vallecito, and Ignacio. "We're responding to emergencies of people trapped in their cars, so we've just asked the public please stay home," Smith said. Durango police reported streets blocked at Clovis Drive and Junction Street, and said County Roads 204 and 205 offered no way into the city. The flooding also knocked out power to about 245 customers in the Junction Creek area and 642 more accounts northeast of Durango. No deaths or injuries in the county had been reported in the updates issued Sunday.
The same storm shut state highways around the county — U.S. Highway 160 between Durango, Bayfield, and Pagosa Springs, Colorado 172 south of Ignacio, Colorado 151, and Wolf Creek Pass. A flood watch issued by the National Weather Service in Grand Junction had been in force since 5 a.m. Sunday and ran through Monday morning, with one to three inches of rain expected over saturated soils, and a flood warning for southern La Plata County runs until 10 p.m. Monday. The Animas River at Durango was flowing at 4,790 cubic feet per second and still rising on Sunday afternoon. Next door in Archuleta County, the San Juan River at Pagosa Springs was forecast to crest near 22 feet, above its 1911 record.
Durango School District and Fort Lewis College cancelled all classes for Monday. For families across the county, the practical value of the details is direct: which roads are closed, which neighborhoods are under orders, and where the shelters are is the information that keeps a driver out of the same water deputies are already pulling motorists from. The county's emergency information line is 970-385-8700, with an evacuation map at ReadyLaPlata.org.
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