{"id":98719,"date":"2018-07-18T13:06:05","date_gmt":"2018-07-18T19:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/floods-cover-roads-property-and-train-tracks-north-of-durango\/"},"modified":"2018-07-18T13:06:05","modified_gmt":"2018-07-18T19:06:05","slug":"floods-cover-roads-property-and-train-tracks-north-of-durango","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/floods-cover-roads-property-and-train-tracks-north-of-durango\/","title":{"rendered":"Floods cover roads, property and train tracks north of Durango"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><!-- gallery:eea42868-1745-4b10-a9b7-3c4a5b9d71d4 --><\/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\/l1XmfJomj7E\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Floods and mudslides that emergency workers feared since rains started to hit the 416 Fire burn scar arrived Tuesday afternoon, with significant debris flows across U.S. Highway 550, railroad tracks and East Animas Road (County Road 250), north of Durango.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the latest updates:<\/p>\n<div class=\"naviga-element naviga-subheadline1\">10 a.m.<\/div>\n<p>Campers who were staying at the KOA Campground on East Animas Road and evacuated Tuesday night will be escorted to the campground to retrieve their belongings today. People should meet at the La Plata County Fairgrounds for an escorted shuttle. One camper per site can go, according to La Plata County. Some vehicles may not be movable.<\/p>\n<div class=\"naviga-element naviga-subheadline1\">8 a.m.<\/div>\n<p>As of 8 a.m. Wednesday, the Colorado Department of Transportation reported Highway 550 was confined to one-lane, alternating traffic between mile markers 80 and 92 because of rockslides.<\/p>\n<p>The mudslide caused the Durango &amp; Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to cancel service today.<\/p>\n<p>Megan Graham, La Plata County spokeswoman, said East Animas Road and County Road 250 C between Bakers Bridge and their intersections with Highway 550 is currently open to local traffic only.<\/p>\n<p>La Plata County has set up a hotline with information about the flooding and debris flow at 382-8700.<\/p>\n<div class=\"naviga-element naviga-subheadline1\">Tuesday evening<\/div>\n<p>The flooding was first reported around 5:15 p.m. Tuesday as a strong rainstorm pelted the area. Though rain tapered off around 6 p.m., debris flows caused issues late into Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. Highway 550 was closed near the East Animas Road intersection, which included the bridge at the base of Shalona Hill, where the Durango &amp; Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad passes underneath. The highway partially reopened to pilot-guided traffic about 8:45 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause of the heavy rains this afternoon, we\u2019ve had several mud and debris slides run across the highway along this half-mile stretch of highway near the burn area,\u201d said John Palmer, maintenance deputy superintendent with the Colorado Department of Transportation. \u201cLots of mud and some large boulders have reached the roadway. Our patrol personnel \u2026 are trying to get the highway open as quickly as possible to at least one-lane alternating traffic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=29b611a0-2d54-4959-8c4c-6711350dd296&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=29b611a0-2d54-4959-8c4c-6711350dd296&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=800 800w, https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=29b611a0-2d54-4959-8c4c-6711350dd296&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=1200 1200w, https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=29b611a0-2d54-4959-8c4c-6711350dd296&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=1800 1800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 2000px\" alt=\"Passengers on the Durango &amp; Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad are escorted off the train to awaiting buses Tuesday evening after debris washed over the train tracks near the Shalona Hill bridge.\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Passengers on the Durango &amp; Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad are escorted off the train to awaiting buses Tuesday evening after debris washed over the train tracks near the Shalona Hill bridge.<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>A D&amp;SNG train carrying about 400 passengers was blocked on the tracks near the Shalona Hill bridge, said Scot Davis, spokesman for Durango Fire Protection District. At about 7:20 p.m., three buses were en route from Durango to pick up the passengers, though more trips were likely needed.<\/p>\n<p>A KOA campground was evacuated near East Animas Road and U.S. Highway 550, one of the first places to report flooding. About 200 campers were bused to the La Plata Fairgrounds, where the Red Cross set up a shelter.<\/p>\n<p>No injuries were reported as of 8:30 p.m., and it\u2019s unclear how much property damage may have occurred.<\/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\/mNiymt6YG8Q\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Davis could not say how widespread the flood was or whether homes were damaged.<\/p>\n<p>The Hermosa area is on pre-evacuation notice because heavy rains in the upper portion of the watershed can take a while to reach homes, said Butch Knowlton, director of La Plata County Emergency Management.<\/p>\n<p>Firefighters were investigating two reported gas leaks: one at the KOA campground and one on East Animas Road. Davis said the leak at the KOA campground had been controlled.<\/p>\n<p>Knowlton said the campground sustained extensive damage.<\/p>\n<p>Midge Wannamaker, who lives on East Animas Road, said a \u201ctorrential downpour\u201d moved through the area that lasted 15 to 20 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou just knew it was going to do some damage because it was that heavy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>After it passed, she looked outside to see water pouring across her neighbors\u2019 yards. Mud and debris covered East Animas Road \u2013 so much so that she wasn\u2019t able to distinguish the road from the surrounding landscape.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can\u2019t tell where the road is,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>John and Fran Reynolds said mud and debris washed across their property on the west side of Highway 550 near the intersection of East Animas Road. They were surprised at how quickly the floods arrived after the rain started falling about 5 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis obviously was on its way down before we started getting the hard rain,\u201d John Reynolds said. \u201cThat suddenness, that unpredictable, \u2018Here it comes,\u2019 is something people need to be aware of.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>La Plata County opened a call center for residents to obtain more information about flooding and potential evacuations. The number is 385-8700.<\/p>\n<p>Flooding also occurred 10 miles west of Pagosa Springs, and U.S. Highway 160 was closed in both directions as a result of significant mudslides, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. The highway was closed from about 4:45 to 8:30 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>CDOT\u2019s website on Wednesday stated westbound traffic on Wolf Creek Pass, between milemarkers 157 and 185, was restricted to loads no wider than 10 feet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Campground evacuated; U.S. Highway 550 closes for hours<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":98720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[2838,1497,13,445,4259,4747,316],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-98719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-416-fire","tag-flood","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-newsletter-lead","tag-newsletter-sign-up","tag-slideshow","tag-video"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98719","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=98719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98719\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98719"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=98719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}