Colorado

Flood evacuees prepare to reenter neighborhoods in southwest Colorado

Published

5 months ago

October 16, 2025

Flood evacuees prepare to reenter neighborhoods in southwest Colorado

VALLECITO — Chief Bruce Evans of the Upper Pine River Fire Protection District spent much of Wednesday in a side-by-side, motoring around a flooded neighborhood northeast of Durango in southwestern Colorado.

“Yesterday we had a breach in the levee over here,” he said while pointing out damage as the off-road vehicle drove through the flooded Vallecito neighborhood.

The small community in unincorporated La Plata County is just starting the long process of recovery after storms, fed by a hurricane and tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean, dropped a deluge of water and flooded parts of southwestern Colorado. In La Plata County, the floodwater damaged nearly 100 homes and forced evacuations for 390 houses. The impacts reached farther east, like Pagosa Springs and South Fork.

Vallecito residents spent days in hotels, friends’ houses and emergency shelters, not knowing whether their homes flooded or when they’d be able to go back.

Some saw their homes for the first time Wednesday. The neighborhood could reopen Thursday morning if weather allows and if the house can be safely accessed, according to officials with the La Plata County Emergency Operations Center.

“We are working right now on that,” Sarah Jacobson, La Plata County spokesperson, said Wednesday at 7 p.m. “Evacuations will be lifted tomorrow, but not for everyone because of road (conditions).”

In response to the flooding, Gov. Jared Polis issued a verbal disaster declaration, and the Department of Revenue extended certain tax deadlines to Dec. 31.

The state is working on sending the Colorado Voluntary Organization Active in Disaster to the area. Representatives from 211 Colorado are arriving in the Vallecito area Thursday, Jacobson said. 211 Colorado has expertise in responding to flood disasters and can connect locals with resources like Airbnb vouchers, she said.

The largest rainfall totals were recorded upstream from the areas with the worst flooding, state climatologist Russ Schumacher wrote Oct. 11 on the Colorado Climate Center’s blog. The Upper San Juan station, west of Wolf Creek Pass, recorded 6.2 inches of rain on Friday and Saturday. Several other stations recorded more than 5 inches over the two days.

Chief Bruce Evans of the Upper Pine Fire Protection District describes work to restore Vallecito Creek in La Plata County Wednesday Oct. 15, 2025, after floods undercut and eroded its banks. (Shannon Mullane, The Colorado Sun)

Then on Monday, storms dumped more rain on the area, overflowing the San Juan River and nearby creeks and streams. The storms brought levels on the San Juan River, as it passes through Pagosa Springs, to its highest level since the 1970s.

Mandatory evacuations in Archuleta County were lifted 6 p.m. Tuesday, but it is not clear how many homes and businesses were affected by the orders. The Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office did not return a call from The Colorado Sun Wednesday.

The first week

In La Plata County, some Vallecito community members were frustrated as the flood water started to recede.

One man wondered where the aid was, whether federal aid was delayed because of the shutdown and where all the flood debris was going to go.

The flood damage might not be significant enough to qualify for some types of federal aid, Jacobson said. The county was still working on its debris plan as of Wednesday evening, she said.

The Vallecito community is tucked away in a remote part of northeastern La Plata County, surrounded by the Weminuche Wilderness within the San Juan National Forest. It’s a close-knit community where residents are private, value their independence and occasionally have heated disagreements in community meetings.

Floodwaters flow through a neighborhood north of Vallecito Reservoir Oct. 15, 2025. (Shannon Mullane, The Colorado Sun)

The community has grown up on the shores of Vallecito Reservoir, a federal dam project built in the 1940s mainly to help with flood control and irrigation water supplies for the region. The area’s economy ebbs and flows with recreation, booming when boaters and vacationers arrive in the summer and lulling during the shoulder seasons.

Community members were preparing for winter when the floods hit. Some worried about heating their homes: Many depend on wood-burning stoves and used to have stacks of firewood in their yards. All of that washed away. Others were trying to figure out how to do daily tasks, like laundry.

One employee at the Weminuche Woodfire Grill, who declined to share her name, said business has been slower than usual, in part because media reports make it seem like the whole community is flooded.

It’s not, just the neighborhood north of the lake was impacted. Businesses are still open, she said.

In Vallecito, residents are finding ways to help each other, whether that means organizing cleanup efforts on private property or helping each other connect to online meetings, like the Monday community update.

“This tested a lot of people,” one Vallecito resident said.

Clearing away debris

Heading north, the flood impacts start to become more clear. Police blocked the road, only allowing officials and residents with red ID tags to enter. A wide swath of water spanned one yard, flowing into a nearby creek which was at least twice its usual size.

Quick spurts of rain fell Wednesday as road crews, sheriff’s vehicles and other emergency responders zipped around. La Plata County officials spent Wednesday shuttling about 30 community members back to their homes, some for the first time. The residents had about 30 minutes to see their homes and gather important items, like medications.

An excavator was in the middle of Vallecito Creek, which reached historic flow levels over the weekend. Its operator was scooping up large rocks to help recreate the creeks’ original banks and prevent further flooding and erosion, Evans said.

In one part of the neighborhood, two, 10-foot-tall piles of rubbish sat next to the creek. The former homes were about to fall into the creek — the cement foundation of one home was sticking out above the rushing water, showing just how much of the bank had eroded.

“That was their back yard out in the middle of the river,” said Wilson Hagg, fleet manager for the Upper Pine River fire district. “The water’s eating the land.”

If they had fallen into the rushing water, they could have caused $2 million to $4 million dollars worth of damage to a downstream bridge, Evans said. The fire chief has the authority to take down an unsafe structure, he said. The fire crews coordinated with the out-of-town homeowners to remove important belongings before tearing down the buildings.

Now the former homes are a pile of shredded wood, insulation and other building materials next to the surging water.

A community’s next steps

Looking ahead, officials are keeping an eye on trees with shallow root systems that could weaken in the saturated, loose soils, causing them to fall, Evans said. That’s one possible safety hazard.

Officials will need to check septic tanks and the water and sewer system. There have been reports of coliform bacteria, Evans said. E. Coli is one form of this type of bacteria.

The floods washed large amounts of sediment, trees and other debris into the reservoir, where the Pine River Irrigation District staff started to plan their cleanup effort.

The county assessor’s office plans to start assessing the damage Thursday, county assessor Carrie Woodson said. It’s not clear how many damaged homes were second homes or primary residences and the office does not hold those records, Woodson said.

Everyone is keeping an eye on the weather.

Showers are forecast to linger through Thursday morning before drying out Friday and through the weekend, Matthew Aleksa, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Office in Grand Junction said.

More rain on already saturated areas poses a risk for flooding, Aleksa said.

“Because we’ve had such an abundance of rainfall over the last five days, the soils are very saturated,” he said. “So any thunderstorm that’s moving over there that’s producing heavy rainfall rates, it can lead to flash flooding. So we are looking at that threat.”

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Related Topics:durango Featured flooding la plata county pagosa springs Vallecito Vallecito Reservoir

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Colorado

An Evening Against Edmonton | Colorado Avalanche

Published

8 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

An Evening Against Edmonton | Colorado Avalanche

Edmonton Oilers (31-25-8) @ Colorado Avalanche (43-10-9)

8 p.m. MT | Ball Arena | Watch: TNT, truTV, HBO Max | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)

After back-to-back shootout victories, the Avalanche concludes its two-game homestand on Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers. This game is an Avalanche Cup Classic, presented by KeyBank, which will honor the 2022 Avs team that won the Stanley Cup and defeated the Oilers in the Western Conference Final. Tuesday’s game is the second of three regular-season meetings between the teams, as the Avalanche won 9-1 in Edmonton on November 8th, and they’ll play in Alberta on April 13th.

Sunday Success

The Avalanche defeated the Minnesota Wild 3-2 in a shootout on Sunday at Ball Arena. Nathan MacKinnon and Nicolas Roy both scored for Colorado while Nazem Kadri posted an assist in his second Avs debut. In net for Colorado, Scott Wedgewood stopped 32 of the 34 shots he faced. MacKinnon opened the scoring at 12:19 of the second period with his 43rd goal of the season via a right-circle one-timer set up by Kadri, who began the play with an interception below the offensive-zone goal line. Kirill Kaprizov tied the game for Minnesota with a power-play goal at 4:17 of the third period when his pass from the right circle deflected into the net. The Wild took a 2-1 lead at 7:01 of the third period when Nico Sturm scored a shorthanded breakaway. Colorado tied the game at 12:39 of the third period when Nicolas Roy scored his first goal as an Av and sixth of the season via a net-front deflection on Brett Kulak’s slap shot. In the shootout, Valeri Nichushkin scored for Colorado in the first round, Matt Boldy scored for Minnesota in the second round and MacKinnon tallied the winner in the fourth round.

Leading the Way

Nate the Great

MacKinnon leads the NHL in goals (43) while ranking second in points (104) and third in assists (61).

All Hail Cale

Among NHL defensemen, Cale Makar is tied for second in points (66) while ranking fourth in goals (19) and assists (47).

Marty Party

Martin Necas is tied for seventh in the NHL in points (76).

Series History

In 135 regular-season games against the Oilers, the Avalanche has a record of 74-49-6-6. The teams have met three times in the playoffs, with the Avs winning the 1997 Western Conference Semifinals in five games and the 2022 Western Conference Final in four contests.

Sunday in Sin City

The Oilers defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday. In the second period, Trent Frederic opened the scoring for Edmonton at 3:21 before Vegas’ Noah Hanifin tied the game at 13:09. The Oilers took a 3-1 third-period lead after goals from Vasily Podkolzin at 2:34 and Leon Draisaitl at 11:53. Jack Eichel cut the Golden Knights’ deficit to one with a shorthanded goal at 16:43 of the third period. Edmonton took a 4-2 lead when Kasperi Kapanen scored an empty-net goal at 18:03 of the third period.

Producing Offense Against the Oilers

MacKinnon has posted 39 points (13g/26a) in 29 regular-season games against the Oilers, in addition to five points (3g/2a) in four playoff contests.

Makar has registered 13 points (5g/8a) in 13 regular-season contests against Edmonton, in addition to nine points (2g/7a) in four playoff games.

Kadri has recorded 25 points (12g/13a) in 30 regular-season games against the Oilers, in addition to four points (1g/3a) in three playoff contests.

Edmonton’s Elite

Connor McDavid leads the Oilers in points (108), goals (35) and assists (73).

Draisaitl is second on the Oilers in points (92), goals (34) and assists (58).

Evan Bouchard is third on the Oilers in points (73) and assists (55) while ranking fourth in goals (18).

A Numbers Game

34

The Avalanche are 34-0-0 when leading after the second period this season.

85

Colorado leads the NHL with 85 second-period goals this campaign.

.806

The Avalanche’s .806 points percentage at home this season is the best in the NHL.

Quote That Left a Mark

“Emotional seeing the support I get here. It’s absolutely incredible. It makes me want to play harder for these fans and this team.”

— Nazem Kadri on the support he received from Avalanche fans at Sunday’s game

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Colorado

Colorado Rockies spring training game no. 17 thread: Kyle Freeland vs. Jedisxson Paez

Published

20 hours ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Colorado Rockies spring training game no. 17 thread: Kyle Freeland vs. Jedisxson Paez

In his first spring training action of 2026, Kyle Freeland faced the daunting task of pitching against Team USA in an exhibition game on March 4. He gave up a solo homer to Aaron Judge in a two-hit, one-strikeout performance in one inning.

Today, Freeland and the Rockies (8-6-1) will take part in his first Cactus League action against the White Sox (10-7) at Camelback Ranch. The Rockies are 5-2 on the road this spring vs. 3-5-1, including the showdown vs. Team USA, at Salt River Fields.

Today’s game represents a rematch of a Feb. 23 showdown where the Rockies beat the White Sox 5-4. Chicago will send Jedisxson Paez to the mound to start the game. The 22-year-old RHP will be making his third spring appearance. He’s posted a 23.14 ERA in 2 1/3 innings over two starts with six earned runs, six hits, including one homer, three strikeouts and one walk. Former Rockie Drew Romo will be starting at catcher for the White Sox.

On Sunday, four pitchers combined to throw five scoreless innings and Kyle Karros and Tyler Freeman each had two-hit performances in the Rockies 4-4 tie with Cleveland. Even though it’s only spring training, the Rockies offense has been much improved thus far. The Rockies rank among all Major League teams this Spring in: on-base percentage (.381, T-1st), home runs (23, T-4th), average (.287, 3rd), HBP (14, T-2nd), slugging (.492, 3rd), OPS (.871, 3rd), runs scored (98, 5th), RBI (91, 6th) and total bases (254, 6th).

Earlier on Monday, the Rockies released a new motto for the 2026 campaign: “New era. At altitude. We are here for the climb.”

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Colorado

Outraged over incentives for data centers that are no good for Colorado (Letters)

Published

1 day ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Outraged over incentives for data centers that are no good for Colorado (Letters)

Data centers: What good are they for Colorado?

Re: “Dueling policies for data centers,” March 1 news story

The Denver Post article about two competing bills in the legislature regarding new data centers in Colorado seems to start with the presumption that we want the data centers.

Why do we want them and who wants them? Is it the politicians wanting bragging rights about our state becoming another Silicon Valley? Perhaps they want more businesses so they can collect more taxes from the new residents. Alternatively, they just want more power in Washington by increasing our population. Has anyone stopped to ask why we want to attract more people to our state?

Colorado is in a fight with other Western states to obtain more water for our growing population. Our wildlife is being crowded out by the increased urbanization. The roads are so crowded that it is not uncommon to come to a complete stop on our interchanges during rush hour. We have a serious housing shortage. The air is being polluted by the increased number of cars. These are all the result of a growing population. Did anyone stop to ask why we want more people?

During my 53 years living in Colorado, I have never heard anyone (other than politicians) say, “We need more people.” On the contrary, the conversation is more often about how we are becoming overcrowded. I would like the politicians to explain why we need more businesses and more people in our state. It should not be a presumption that more is better! Are our elected representatives truly reflecting the wishes of their constituents?

Doug Hurst, Parker

Anger and disbelief were our reactions when we read about House Bill 1030, which is under consideration at the statehouse. This outrageous corporate welfare bill would provide some of the world’s wealthiest corporations with massive state tax reductions to build monstrous resource-thirsty data centers. Analysts projected a $92.5 million tax loss in just three years if a bunch of these data centers are built. Just one 160-megawatt facility would gobble up as much power as 176,000 homes once completed. Consider for comparison that the entire DIA airport uses around 45 megawatts of power!

As the state legislature grapples with bone-deep budget cuts, we cannot afford to exempt data centers from paying their own way nor allow their unregulated construction. Taxpayer-funded corporate handouts would entail massive hits to tax revenue that should be used for our schools, roads, infrastructure, and valid state needs. What essential services will potentially be cut or axed to cover the lost revenue to the state from this corporate giveaway?

These data centers also demand massive amounts of our water. A CoreSite data center in Denver alone will use approximately 805,000 gallons of water per day to air-condition its computers. That is the same as the average daily indoor water use of 16,100 Denver homes.

I pray our state legislature will condemn HB-1030 to the corporate welfare hell where it belongs in. Instead, they should support Senate Bill 102 that will hopefully properly regulate these tax-eating, water-wasting, and electricity-gobbling monstrosities.

Terry Talbot, Grand Junction

As a pediatrician, I’ve noticed one key issue missing from the data center debate: public health.

Data centers are extraordinarily energy- and water-intensive. Nationally, they already consume about 4% of U.S. electricity — a figure expected to more than double by 2030. Much of that power still comes from burning fossil fuels. Without strong safeguards, that growth means more air pollution. In my clinical practice, I see firsthand how health is shaped by the air we breathe. More pollution means more asthma attacks, heart disease, and premature deaths, especially in communities already burdened by poor air quality.

Water use is another concern. Large data centers can use enormous amounts of water for cooling. In a drought-prone state like Colorado, this raises serious questions about long-term drinking water reliability and heat resilience.

Energy affordability is also a health issue. When infrastructure is built to serve massive corporate users, costs can shift to households. I see the effects of energy insecurity in families forced to choose between cooling their homes, buying medication, or putting food on the table.

Colorado has an opportunity to get this right. Senate Bill 102 would establish guardrails to protect ratepayers, limit pollution, and ensure large electricity users pay their full infrastructure costs. Other states, including Michigan and Virginia, are reconsidering generous tax incentives after seeing how quickly public costs can outpace public benefit.

Colorado can welcome innovation without sacrificing clean air, clean water, affordable energy, and community health. Public health must be a priority, not an afterthought.

Clare Burchenal, Denver

As the story makes clear, data centers in our communities have real impacts on our health, our pocketbooks and our quality of life. I’m a mom of two small children who are counting on the adults in the room to make responsible decisions that impact their futures. It’s dizzying to see the pace of data centers sweeping the country and confusing as to why leaders are rushing to accommodate them without taking into consideration all of the impacts these massive industrial complexes have on communities.

It’s critical that data centers are powered by clean-burning renewable energy, not fossil fuels. We are in a no-snow winter in Colorado, and we have no safeguards in place against data center water use. Energy infrastructure should be paid for by the billion-dollar big tech companies that will profit from it, not by unfair rate increases for our families and small businesses.

There is a way to do this right. Senate Bill 102 has some important protections for our families and communities while still allowing for the responsible construction and operation of data centers built in appropriate places in our state. It is unacceptable that our leaders do nothing to protect us from big tech excesses. SB-102 will protect all Colorado kids – and their parents and communities. Join me in urging our legislators to pass this important bill.

Sara Kuntzler, Arvada

U.S. women’s hockey players above the game and politics

Re: “Trump tore athletes down on the world’s stage,” March 1 commentary

Dear Megan Schrader,

Thank you for your column on how the president disrespected the U.S. women’s Olympic hockey team. Your excellent commentary hit and sent the puck into the back of the net, so to speak.

To take it a step further, I believe the women’s choice not to visit the White House was more than meets the eye. Ostensibly, they declined the invitation because of the timing, specifically the resumption of play in the professional women’s hockey league.

Yet, I would like to believe it was more an expression of contempt for the president and his policies.

The women were smarter and braver and truer to their values than were the men’s Olympic hockey team, who, with the same timing issues, chose to accept the invitation to the White House. That visit and the visit to the State of the Union Address only helped bolster the president’s optics. An exception was the Colorado Avalanche’s own Brock Nelson, who declined to accompany the men’s team because he valued his family time more than a public charade.

In sports — as in life — we need more people like the women hockey players who will elevate their values above the games and politics.

Bill Allegar, Denver

Backing up to park for safety?

Re: “Do you back into a parking spot or back out?” March 1 feature story

I read this with slight amusement. For someone who has traveled a bit, and especially in Asia (Japan in particular), backing into a parking space is a very common practice (not a new trend) and has been for decades. On my first trip to Japan, around 1992, I was told it was what most people did.

As for the company Imminent Threat Solutions recommending “tactical parking” because they should “prevail against all threats,” seems like marketing hype of the biggest kind, building fear into your daily life of running errands and going to work. Has there been bad behaviour, shootings, and whatnot in a parking lot? Sure, but let’s not build fear for something that happens rarely to the average individual.

Randy DeBoer, Denver

To add to the parking procedures article in Sunday’s paper, there is another option, one that I use and recommend; it’s the “drive-through” to an open space.

After having been hit and having a rental car damaged (a three-month hassle to resolve) by a driver who backed out of an opposite space without looking, I don’t drive into a parking space if I can help it. What I do instead is find an open space where I can drive in straight and continue to a back-to-back adjoining space where I can park and then drive ahead to depart. These parking spots are typically a longer walk to my destination, and I benefit from the additional steps.

G. E. Cole, Centennial

I enjoyed your article on discussing whether to back in or pull straight into parking spaces. Our oldest son is a backer-inner, and I am starting to be one too. What is missing from your analysis, though, is the grocery store, much less Costco or Home Depot. Almost nobody is a backer-inner in these places, since you’re typically loading stuff in your backseat, hatch, or pickup bed. I guess the backer-inners are just not going to be able to escape as quickly once they’ve picked up 50 pounds of dog food, 25 rolls of paper towels, or five sheets of 4′ x 8′ plywood. Hope they survive.

Tim Hickisch, Highlands Ranch

You can support immigrants and the law

Re: “Faith communities show support for immigrants,” Feb. 22 news story

Faith communities do show support for immigrants. I don’t agree with those who stand against the law and ICE. While we may support all people made in the image of God, we should not be for illegal immigrants. They have broken the law, and some are doing great harm while living here. Legal immigrants, please come. Illegal immigrants, please go home and come here legally.

Deanna R Walworth, Brighton

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