{"id":16176,"date":"2025-10-11T19:13:45","date_gmt":"2025-10-11T19:13:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/vallecito-residents-seek-shelter-from-floodwaters-we-decided-it-was-time-to-get-out\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:55:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:55:06","slug":"vallecito-residents-seek-shelter-from-floodwaters-we-decided-it-was-time-to-get-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/vallecito-residents-seek-shelter-from-floodwaters-we-decided-it-was-time-to-get-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Vallecito residents seek shelter from floodwaters: \u2018We decided it was time to get out\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video wp-block-embed-youtube naviga-video-embed\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rbeZy5BCih4\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>More than 380 homes in northern Vallecito were evacuated Saturday after floodwaters breached the levees along Grimes Creek and the west side of Vallecito Creek.<\/p>\n<p>Vallecito received more than double any previous amount of precipitation ever recorded for Oct. 9-11, according to the National Weather Service office in Grand Junction.<\/p>\n<p>Meteorologist Brianna Bealo said a Vallecito SNOTEL site recorded 4.8 inches of precipitation from Thursday through Saturday afternoon. Previous records for October showed precipitation up to about 2 inches.<\/p>\n<p>The stream gauge for Vallecito Creek showed 6,130 cubic feet per second Saturday afternoon \u2013 an apparent record, said Sarah Jacobson, La Plata County administrative analyst.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=69024a8d-13e7-5318-911a-d0b0f44ac3d1&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1381\" alt=\"Emergency personnel from La Plata County Sheriffs Office, Upper Pine River Fire Protection District and volunteers sandbag a home at the north end of Vallecito Reservoir on Saturday as floodwaters from Vallecito Creek caused an evacuation of 383 homes in the area. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Emergency personnel from La Plata County Sheriffs Office, Upper Pine River Fire Protection District and volunteers sandbag a home at the north end of Vallecito Reservoir on Saturday as floodwaters from Vallecito Creek caused an evacuation of 383 homes in the area. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>She said Tucker Lane, Mushroom View Drive and Vallecito Creek Drive had been closed.<\/p>\n<p>As of 2:45 p.m. Saturday, 383 homes were evacuated.<\/p>\n<p>Upper Pine River Fire Protection District led the evacuation and emergency response, under the direction of Fire Chief Bruce Evans, with assistance from the La Plata County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n<p>La Plata County Road and Bridge crews were also mobilized to clear debris from bridges and deliver sandbags to Upper Pine fire Station No. 1.<\/p>\n<p>A footbridge was lost along Vallecito Creek, Jacobson said. That debris could pile up downstream.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=50d4d978-7393-5965-b383-d660452658ee&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1486\" alt=\"Firefighter Chris Canawa with Upper Pine River Fire Protection District helps Ron Savage as he evacuates his Vallecito Reservoir home on Saturday as flood water from Vallecito Creek surrounds his house. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Firefighter Chris Canawa with Upper Pine River Fire Protection District helps Ron Savage as he evacuates his Vallecito Reservoir home on Saturday as flood water from Vallecito Creek surrounds his house. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>\u201cThat\u2019s what gets scary,\u201d she said. \u201c\u2026 If they go out, then they\u2019ll start stacking up on the larger bridges that we absolutely need to save.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jacobson said the county emergency call center was accepting calls for information and assistance at (970) 385-8700.<\/p>\n<p>Evacuation zones were located north of Vallecito Reservoir, according to La Plata County\u2019s North Vallecito flood evacuation map on ReadyLaPlata.org.<\/p>\n<p>Bayfield High School, located at 800 County Road 501, was serving as a check-in and shelter for evacuees.<\/p>\n<p>Jacobson said 57 residents checked in at BHS on Saturday and 12 were staying the night.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe would really like for them to check in so we can give them information and be able to find evacuees if necessary,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=62b67397-97e7-5092-9bce-501110e19b3f&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"868\" height=\"555\" alt=\"Evacuation zones 1 and 3, highlighted in green north of Vallecito Reservoir, were under evacuation because of flooding, according to La Plata County. Zone 2, marked in yellow, was under an evacuation warning. Voluntary evacuations were encouraged. (Screenshot)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Evacuation zones 1 and 3, highlighted in green north of Vallecito Reservoir, were under evacuation because of flooding, according to La Plata County. Zone 2, marked in yellow, was under an evacuation warning. Voluntary evacuations were encouraged. (Screenshot)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>Christy and Joe Korinko, who live in northern Vallecito, said they chose to evacuate shortly after noon after watching Vallecito Creek steadily rise. Their home is about 100 yards from the creek.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe water was rising and we decided it was time to get out,\u201d Christy Korinko said.<\/p>\n<p>Joe Korinko said the speed and intensity of the rising waters were \u201cexponential.\u201d They monitored the creek all morning, and around 11 a.m. it \u201cjust started shooting up very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They and their dog were on their way to Bayfield High School to check in before staying with a friend in Bayfield.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=6008418b-93cd-5a2c-b6be-4386717e7cdf&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1199\" alt=\"Vallecito Creek flows near 6,000 cubic feet per second at the north end of Vallecito Reservoir on Saturday as floodwaters from Vallecito Creek caused an evacuation of 383 homes in the area. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Vallecito Creek flows near 6,000 cubic feet per second at the north end of Vallecito Reservoir on Saturday as floodwaters from Vallecito Creek caused an evacuation of 383 homes in the area. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>Christy Korinko said the creek was \u201crunning hard and fast\u201d with \u201ca lot of debris coming down,\u201d and echoed the county\u2019s concerns about debris blocking bridges.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLots of earth-moving equipment was heading up the mountain while we were coming down,\u201d Joe Korinko said.<\/p>\n<p>The Korinkos have owned their Vallecito home since 2002. It is located in a 100-year flood plain, and they said they\u2019ve never seen flooding like this.<\/p>\n<p>Flooding along Vallecito Creek in October 2006 prompted evacuations and destroyed flood-control structures. At least 18 houses were inundated, according to Upper Pine fire.<\/p>\n<p>The Korinkos\u2019 home, which they owned but did not live in at the time, was unaffected, Joe Korinko said.<\/p>\n<p>Christy Korinko said the forecast for additional rain over the next several was enough to convince them to leave.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video wp-block-embed-youtube naviga-video-embed\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CAatcfba4i0\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Joe Korinko said he isn\u2019t worried about the home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverything\u2019s insured, but life isn\u2019t,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The National Weather Service was forecasting 1 to 2 more inches of rain from Saturday afternoon through Monday.<\/p>\n<p>La Plata County urged motorists to drive slowly and cautiously, as debris and mud could appear on county roads.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMud is much denser than water, and even small amounts can cause any vehicle to slide or get stuck,\u201d the release said. \u201cMotorists should not drive into areas where the water covers the roadway. The water depth may be too great to allow a safe crossing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=45318ca2-9baa-5f6e-912f-a7965990c010&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1274\" alt=\"Gerald Gurule, with La Plata County Road and Bridge, uses a trackhoe to keep trees and debris from piling up on the Vallecito Creek bridge on County Road 501 at the north end of Vallecito Reservoir on Saturday as heavy rains caused the creek to flood. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Gerald Gurule, with La Plata County Road and Bridge, uses a trackhoe to keep trees and debris from piling up on the Vallecito Creek bridge on County Road 501 at the north end of Vallecito Reservoir on Saturday as heavy rains caused the creek to flood. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>In a Facebook post published at 6:50 p.m. Friday, Upper Pine fire said Vallecito Creek stream gauges triggered a High Spring Runoff alert detecting 1,040 cfs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you are in the North End of Vallecito you need to heighten your situational awareness,\u201d the post said.<\/p>\n<p>Upper Pine Fire said stream banks and creeks are highly susceptible to rapid erosion and advised residents to use extreme caution.<\/p>\n<p>In an update, Upper Pine fire said residents in northern Vallecito must evacuate, and that the creek\u2019s flow rate was expected to peak by 8 p.m. Saturday.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=ad3f0100-0476-553f-9c96-171933f0d8dd&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1079\" alt=\"A house at the north end of Vallecito Reservoir was surrounded by floodwaters on Saturday as heavy rains caused Vallecito Creek and other waterways to flood. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">A house at the north end of Vallecito Reservoir was surrounded by floodwaters on Saturday as heavy rains caused Vallecito Creek and other waterways to flood. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>Vallecito received the most precipitation in the greater Durango area since Thursday, Beato said. But Durango also received about 2\u00bd inches of precipitation from Thursday through Saturday afternoon. The previous highest recorded amount of precipitation for Oct. 11 was just 0.23 inches.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is definitely a pretty significant, pretty unusual precipitation event for this time of the year,\u201d she said. \u201cOctober is not typically this wet. Our wettest month is actually September.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She said the region owes its almost unrealistically high moisture since Thursday to Tropical Storm Priscilla.<\/p>\n<p>Rains are expected to relent on Sunday, but a pool of moisture is forecast to sneak into Southwestern Colorado from the south on Monday and linger into Tuesday, she said.<\/p>\n<p>The second bout of stormy weather will deliver more moisture to the area than normal, but it won\u2019t be directly fueled by a tropical storm and won\u2019t resemble the intensity of rains experienced since Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>Bealo said it isn\u2019t clear if more rain means more flooding for Vallecito. That will depend on saturated soils Monday and Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany who refused to evacuate are now in need of rescue,\u201d Upper Pine said Saturday. \u201cImportant to get out now to Bayfield High School. This water is fast-moving filled with debris and hazardous materials.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jacobson said a couple refused to evacuate. After their driveway was flooded, they asked to be rescued.<\/p>\n<p>Responders were working to prevent debris from damaging a bridge at Grimes and Vallecito creeks, while crews stacked sandbags at Blue Spruce RV Park &amp; Cabins.<\/p>\n<p>Kevin Hall, interim La Plata County manager, issued a declaration of local disaster which allows the county to access state resources and additional funding for response and recovery efforts.<\/p>\n<p><em id=\"emphasis-ea59aa3ad9c8b812c8d6425cbdd8401e\"><a href=\"mailto:cburney@durangoherald.com\">cburney@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=ad3f0100-0476-553f-9c96-171933f0d8dd&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1079\" alt=\"A house at the north end of Vallecito Reservoir was surrounded by floodwaters on Saturday as heavy rains caused Vallecito Creek and other waterways to flood. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">A house at the north end of Vallecito Reservoir was surrounded by floodwaters on Saturday as heavy rains caused Vallecito Creek and other waterways to flood. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=e58beb53-19db-5ffc-b714-f08c2ee92ddf&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"934\" alt=\"Floodwaters from Vallecito Creek near the home of Christy and Joe Korinko north of County Road 501 in Vallecito. (Courtesy of Christy and Joe Korinko)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Floodwaters from Vallecito Creek near the home of Christy and Joe Korinko north of County Road 501 in Vallecito. (Courtesy of Christy and Joe Korinko)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>380 homes evacuated; La Plata County declares local disaster<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1152,1497,28,1310,1500,414],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-16176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-emergency-incident","tag-flood","tag-headlines","tag-safety-of-citizens","tag-vallecito","tag-weather"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16176"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16176\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20058,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16176\/revisions\/20058"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16176"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=16176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}