National Guard Rescues and Mass Evacuations in Colorado and New Mexico

By Patrick Humphrey, disaster and emergency-news reporter on YouTube (143K subscribers) and founder of ReadyAtlas.

MASS EVACUATIONS have been ordered across the Four Corners region, and the National Guard has been deployed in multiple states. Historic flooding is tearing through southwest Colorado and northern New Mexico right now. People are being pulled off rooftops, bridges are washing away, major highways are shut down, and officials are warning the worst may still be on the way downstream.

This is the second October in a row that this area has been hit by catastrophic flooding, and this time the water is heading straight for Farmington, New Mexico.

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Almost the entire state of New Mexico is under flood warnings. 

Pagosa Springs: "We Have No Way In or Out"

The San Juan River runs right through the middle of Pagosa Springs, Colorado, and it has completely taken over sections of town. Video from Friday shows homes and buildings underwater and the river spilling into streets. The river crested at about 15 feet Friday morning, higher than the roughly 12.8 feet it reached in last year's flood.

Residents across Archuleta County say they are stranded. Floodwaters have washed out roads and damaged or destroyed bridges, including one near Pagosa Springs that was swept away. Mandatory evacuations are in place, and a Colorado National Guard Black Hawk helicopter has been flying rescues.

This region just had what was called a "hundred-year flood" last October. Now it's happening again.

South Fork and the Conejos River: Up to 7 Feet of Water in Homes

The flooding isn't just in Pagosa. In South Fork, Colorado, floodwater dumped four to five feet of water inside homes, prompting evacuations of 80 to 100 homes. At least one bridge in the area is missing entirely.

The Fun Valley Family Resort campground and RV park in South Fork was flooded. Campgrounds next to rivers get hit hard in events like this because RVs and trailers can be picked up and swept away very easily.

Along the Conejos River, some homes had water reaching up to seven feet high. Governor Jared Polis has ordered the National Guard into action for evacuations and search and rescue, and his disaster order now covers 12 counties.

Wolf Creek Pass and Major Highways Shut Down

Roads around Pagosa Springs and Durango are severely damaged. Wolf Creek Pass, the main route connecting Pagosa Springs to the eastern side of Colorado, has been shut down. Video from near the pass shows the road crumbling apart.

Debris, downed trees, and mudslides are piling up across roadways. In Durango, police have shut down the Animas River due to extensive flooding and are telling everyone to stay away from the river, with no recreation of any kind.

Farmington, New Mexico: "Once in a Generation" Flooding Ahead

Here's the scary part. All of this water from the mountains is flowing downhill, and the rivers come together right near Farmington, New Mexico. The San Juan County Office of Emergency Management is warning that the San Juan River and Animas River have not reached their peak yet.

A flood warning is in effect along the San Juan River at Farmington and across San Juan County until 12 p.m. on October 25, with major flooding possible. By Friday afternoon the San Juan at Farmington had already climbed above its record from 1909.

It takes days for mountain runoff to work its way down in elevation, and every creek and stream along the way keeps feeding the rivers. That means places like Farmington could see flooding even worse than Pagosa Springs over the next few days.

• About 600 Farmington households have been told to evacuate.
• New Mexico National Guard boats, helicopters, and amphibious vehicles were used Thursday night into Friday to reach stranded residents.
• Navajo Dam and Navajo State Park are seeing flooding as the reservoir takes on a huge amount of water.

A San Juan County spokesperson described the situation bluntly: "We're picking people off of roofs and pulling people out of homes that have three or four feet of water in them, and there's more water coming." He added that the county was still sending deputies to get people out, and that the sheriff himself was close to losing his home.

Navajo Nation Officials: Don't Wait to Evacuate

The flood warnings stretch across southwestern Colorado, southeastern Utah, and much of New Mexico. Navajo Nation police leadership urged people during a news conference not to wait to evacuate, and to make preparations for themselves, their families, and their animals.

If you live anywhere along the San Juan or Animas rivers, take these warnings seriously:

• Leave early if you're told to evacuate. Roads can wash out with no warning.
• Never drive into floodwater. Bridges and roadbeds can be undermined even if they look fine.
• Stay away from rivers. No recreation, no sightseeing.
• Have a go-bag ready with water, food, meds, documents, and supplies for pets.
• Plan for road closures, since major routes like Wolf Creek Pass are already shut down.

More Rain and Another Pacific Hurricane on the Way

More rain is still in the forecast for parts of the region. And there's another hurricane out in the Pacific moving toward the Southwest that could bring even more rain and flooding after Halloween. There may be a short break of a week or so after this round, but this region needs to stay on alert.

Get Every Alert in One Place

Patrick tracked this flood on ReadyAtlas, where you can see flood warnings across Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico in one view. ReadyAtlas also gives you severe weather outlook alerts, hurricane tracks, wildfires, air quality, earthquakes, tsunami alerts, space weather, and power grid maps all in one place.

Get ReadyAtlas and get alerts before the water reaches you

Watch the Full Breakdown

Watch Patrick's full video on YouTube: National Guard & Black Hawk Helicopters just Deployed.... Mass Evacuations Ordered

Stay ahead of floods, wildfires, hurricanes, and grid emergencies with live maps and alerts at ReadyAtlas.org.