$65 Million in Highway Damage: On Day 8 of Southwest Colorado Flooding, State Emergency Center Stays at Level 1 on October 30 as National Guard Rescues Reach 50 People
Flooding in southwest Colorado entered its eighth day on October 30. The Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management's State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) daily update for October 30 said the center remains at Level 1 for both response and recovery for the flood incident that began on October 23, with multiple state agencies fully engaged, community lifelines stable at the state level, and damage assessments under way in the impacted areas.
Governor Jared Polis issued a verbal disaster emergency declaration at 8:36 p.m. on October 23. Twelve counties are impacted: La Plata, Archuleta, Montezuma, Dolores, Hinsdale, San Miguel, Ouray, San Juan, Mineral, Alamosa, Conejos and Rio Grande.
The Colorado National Guard and the Colorado Search and Rescue Association are supporting local sheriffs with search and rescue and reconnaissance flights. About 20 Guard members form Task Force Aviation, operating a hoist-equipped UH-60 Black Hawk and an LUH-72 Lakota out of Pagosa Springs, while nearly 80 additional personnel and 30 tactical vehicles form Task Force Ground Search and Rescue. The National Guard has so far rescued 50 people and over 20 dogs and several cats.
The SEOC has deployed two incident management teams totaling 50 members, one supporting Archuleta County and the other Conejos and Rio Grande counties, and has processed more than 170 resource orders, sending bottled water, sandbags, 400 water well test kits, sandbag machines, sand and concrete to impacted areas.
The Colorado Department of Transportation estimates flood damage to federal-aid roadways at $65 million and has asked the Federal Highway Administration to release $6.5 million, or 10 percent of the total, through its quick-release process so work can start immediately; the Transportation Commission has already approved $5 million in emergency funds. A damaged culvert and sinkhole about six miles east of Pagosa Springs is under permanent repair with round-the-clock single-lane alternating traffic and delays of up to 20 minutes, and shoulder damage along the Wolf Creek Summit to South Fork segment has brought the same pattern there.
On October 30, Conejos County ran two mobile distribution sites where residents could pick up water, food, clean-out kits, boot covers and other recovery resources at no cost, at the Red Bear Haus parking lot in Horca from 9 to 11 a.m. and at the Parish Hall in Conejos from 1 to 3 p.m., with Colorado National Guard trucks delivering the supplies. The Conejos County sheriff lifted the mandatory evacuation order for Manassa at 5 p.m. on October 27 and for Guadalupe at 1 p.m. on October 28.
Conejos County Human Services manages the local shelter, the Salvation Army is providing mobile feeding at the Rio Grande shelter, and 211 Colorado's Airbnb emergency lodging program has supported 68 households, offering up to 28 nights of free lodging for residents under mandatory evacuation and for deployed first responders; the deadline for evacuated Conejos County residents to register for those benefits was 5 p.m. on October 30. Residents who need free volunteer cleanup help can call the Crisis Cleanup hotline at 970-283-7325.
The National Weather Service expects another potent storm system to impact the region this weekend, bringing the potential for additional flooding, and a flood watch remains in effect for southwestern Colorado. South Fork sought volunteers to pre-fill sandbags at Rickel Arena at 1 p.m. on October 30, with further filling planned in Del Norte and Monte Vista on Saturday. The SEOC advises residents to keep monitoring official sources and to check cotrip.org for highway closures.
Source: Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, SEOC Update, October 30, 2026
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：科罗拉多州阿奇莱塔县Pagosa Springs的圣胡安河（资料图），本次洪灾重灾区即在该河流域。照片：Dicklyon，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The San Juan River at Pagosa Springs, Archuleta County, Colorado (file photo), in the heart of the flood-affected area. Photo: Dicklyon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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