FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Severe flooding in the Four Corners region Friday led to rescues — some from rooftops — and impassable roads, with some residents told to evacuate low-lying areas of Colorado and New Mexico and others urged to stay where they are until water levels drop.
The flooding followed two months of heavy rains that ended a summer drought in the region where the boundaries of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet. Since Wednesday, a total of 4 inches (10 centimeters) had fallen in the already saturated area, with even more rain forecast for the weekend.
Hundreds of people along the San Juan River in the biggest city in the area, Farmington, New Mexico, were told to evacuate. Downstream, residents of the vast Navajo Nation braced for floodwaters not expected to peak until late Friday or early Saturday.
“Do not wait to make your evacuations. Make your preparations for yourselves, your families, as well as your animals,” Navajo Nation Deputy Police Chief Donnie Kee urged during a news conference.
The crisis capped a week of severe weather in which rain swamped dozens of homes in Utah and tornadoes blew off roofs, knocked trees onto houses and downed power lines in Arizona.
In New Mexico, more ‘once in a generation’ flooding ahead
Rescuers used New Mexico National Guard boats, helicopters and amphibious vehicles Thursday night and into Friday to try to reach stranded residents, San Juan County spokesperson Devin Neeley said.
“We’re picking people off of roofs and pulling people out of houses that have 3 or 4 feet (1-1.5 meters) of water in them, and there’s more water coming,” Neeley said.
Rains stopped — at least temporarily — but rivers were still rising.
“This is serious. We’re still sending deputies as I speak to get people out of their homes right now. In fact, our sheriff is damn near going to lose his home today,” Neeley said.
Some 600 Farmington households were told to evacuate, city spokesperson Gina Intoppa said.
Still higher water was on the way via the Animas River, a San Juan tributary that also flows south from rain-soaked Colorado, Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said in the news conference.
“People are not believing that it’s going to be as bad as it is. But you can see the water flow coming, you can see the surge coming,” Hebbe said, calling it a “once in a generation” event.
Even worse than historic southern Colorado flooding a year ago
In southern Colorado, flooding was even worse than forecast and a full 3 feet (1 meter) higher than a 100-year flood on the San Juan River only a year ago. Rainfall topped 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) in the Pagosa Springs area of south-central Colorado, according to Frank Pereira, a National Weather Service forecaster in College Park, Maryland.
Colorado National Guard rescuers succeeded Friday in using a helicopter to hoist two people and their three dogs to safety from a partially submerged recreational vehicle. They had driven onto a flooded road while trying to escape the high water and got washed into a river, Archuleta County sheriff's officials said.
Authorities were assessing who else needed help, including many whose homes weren’t flooded but were cut off by floodwaters.
Sheriff Mike Le Roux said the amount of water was “unprecedented” and had caused a lot of damage, but he was not aware of any deaths or serious injuries.
Evacuees included the wife and three children of Tyler Scartaccini, who stayed behind to keep an eye on their property as water reached their porch and into their garages.
“I felt like we were in a very safe place and now I don’t feel that so much,” Scartaccini said.
In nearby Rio Grande County, trailers at a campground were surrounded by water. Trucks were partially submerged in other areas.
Colorado roads closed due to runoff damage included U.S. 550 between Silverton and Ouray, a scenic, high-elevation route known as the “Million Dollar Highway.”
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis had declared a disaster emergency in 11 counties.
In Utah, more flooding is possible while other areas dry out
In the city of Hurricane in far southwestern Utah, a shipping container drifting down a street gave way Friday to a mess of mud and debris to be cleaned up as people who had evacuated earlier in the week returned home.
The risk shifted to Utah's southeast, where streams ran fast and high. Flood watches were in effect into the weekend, said Alex DeSmet, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Salt Lake City.
Still, the Four Corners region could get more heavy rain this weekend, with up to half an inch (1 centimeter) forecast to fall in northwestern New Mexico.
While parts of the Southwest are rocky with little vegetation and are naturally prone to flash flooding, the recent rains had saturated the ground and made widespread flooding more likely. The moisture was from the remnants of Pacific tropical systems that had come ashore, forecasters said.
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McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Associated Press writers Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, and Wufei Yu and Josh Kelety in Phoenix contributed to this story.