Flash flooding triggers evacuations in Southwest and dire warning for Colorado spa town

More heavy rainfall produced flash flooding and mandatory evacuations in a wide swath of the Southwest on Sunday, including in a Colorado tourist town bracing for its main river to rise to historic levels, as weary residents in the normally arid region deal with another massive drenching.

In southwestern Colorado, officials in Pagosa Springs, a town of more than 2,000 in the Rockies located near ski resorts and known for its hot springs, warned in a Facebook post of potentially “catastrophic flooding” as the San Juan River was forecast to crest at more than 20 feet (6.1 meters) late Sunday night.

“To put the forecast into perspective, during the devastating 1911 flood that wiped out most of what existed as the town of Pagosa at that time, the San Juan River crested at approximately 17.8 feet (5.4 meters),” the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office said in a separate Facebook post. “This is a potentially catastrophic flood event."

Officials in the tourist destination of Sedona, Arizona, ordered residents in areas near Oak Creek to leave immediately as flood waters rose rapidly and multiple people were trapped in their homes. Nearby Camp Verde also issued an evacuation order for residents living near the Verde River, West Clear Creek, and Wet Beaver Creek.

Arizona expects months' worth of rain in a couple of days, meteorologist says

“We are getting two or three months of rain in a span of a couple of days,” said Aaron Hardin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tucson.

The conditions produced flash floods, river flooding and swift boat rescues in Tucson, some 230 miles (370 kilometers) south of Sedona.

The latest round of soaking rains started Saturday evening and was expected to saturate the area through Monday. The weather service estimates as much as 4 inches (10 centimeters) of rain could fall across the region, fueled by a series of Pacific storm systems.

The weather service issued flood warnings and watches for nearly all of Arizona and parts of southern Utah, southwestern Colorado and western New Mexico, in addition to part of southern Nevada. That includes the sparsely populated Four Corners region where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet.

The weather service office for Salt Lake City said previous storms that soaked the area could contribute to excessive rain runoff during the latest downpours, especially in Washington County, Utah, and Zion and Capitol Reef National Parks.

“Flood prone areas will likely become inundated at times, and backcountry roads will likely become impassable from this excessive runoff,” a weather service statement said.

Highway into Colorado tourist town closed to all except evacuees

Officials in Pagosa Springs said anyone in low-lying areas along the San Juan, Rio Blanco, Navajo and Piedra rivers should head to a designated shelter at a local church.

They advised residents not to wait to leave their homes as emergency crews may be extremely limited during the worst of the storm. The highway entering town also was closed to inbound traffic, and residents were advised to avoid contact with the San Juan River after sewage was discharged into it.

Katie German, owner and chef of Bruin Coffee in Pagosa Springs, said downtown had been evacuated and that there was street flooding. German said she was most worried about the one bridge into town washing out and trucks carrying everything from food to fuel not having a way in.

Town officials had just lifted an evacuation order from flooding last week only to reimpose it Saturday night with the San Juan forecast to crest Sunday night at 21.9 feet (6.7 meters), according to Vicki Shaffer, public information officer working the floods for the Archuleta County Sheriff's Office.

“I’m worried about my business, worried about my employees, definitely worried for everybody in this town,” German said. “This town, we’re a very, very, tight community. We all help each other out.”

Officials in La Plata County, which is west of Pagosa Springs, said all public roads were closed due to the flooding.

Sedona officials rescue residents trapped in homes

In Sedona, longtime resident Michelle Grimm worried about her community after viewing the rushing waters of Oak Creek rising perilously close to the underside of a pedestrian bridge near the center of town.

“I went out at eight this morning and I saw the bridge and I was like, ‘Oh, we’re in trouble,’” she said as she sheltered in place in her home Sunday afternoon.

“I’ve never seen them rescuing people with helicopters out of neighborhoods. I’ve never seen neighborhoods completely submerged in water,” Grimm said. “We’re just praying that the creek doesn’t rise anymore.”

Sedona officials on Sunday ordered residents living in affected areas to head to Sedona Red Rock High School, but they urged people not to attempt to drive across roads with rushing waters and to stay away from creek beds and washes.

Heavy rains forced the closure of several highways across Arizona, the state Department of Transportation reported.

Sedona Fire District Chief Ed Mezulis said in a short clip posted on Facebook that emergency crews from surrounding communities were coming in to assist as local fire and police officials were already responding to multiple reports of residents trapped in their homes.

“Please stay at high ground, watch your alerts and be careful,” he advised.

A video shared by the fire department showed powerful flood waters inundating vehicles and rushing past homes and other structures. Other videos and photos shared on social media showed people standing on a pedestrian bridge taking photos and videos as churning, brown waters rushed underneath.

—-

Marcelo reported from New York and Casey from Boston. Associated Press writer Christopher Weber in Los Angeles also contributed to this story.