Click the link to read the article on The Denver Post website (Lauren Penington and Katie Langford). Here’s an excerpt:
November 2, 2026
Dangerous floodwaters threatened homes and communities across southwestern Colorado on Monday, causing widespread damage to towns and counties already incapacitated by flooding from rain-swollen rivers one week earlier. The San Juan River in Pagosa Springs rose to nearly 17 feet on Sunday as an estimated 3 to 4 inches of rain fell over land already saturated by heavy precipitation. The river did not hit the record-breaking 22-foot crest that forecasters expected, but the 16.81-foot crest recorded Sunday night is the second-highest on record and two feet higher than one week ago, according to preliminary data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s river gauges. Southern Colorado officials ordered mandatory evacuations for people living in parts of La Plata, Archuleta, Rio Grande, Mineral, Conejos and Montezuma counties, including parts of Pagosa Springs, Durango, Del Norte, Ignacio and Mancos…Sunday’s storm brought similar or slightly less rain than the storm that caused widespread flooding in the area more than a week earlier, but the water had nowhere to go, National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Petersen said. The ground was still saturated from the previous floods, unable to absorb much more, and reservoirs were already filled to the brink, pushing water downstream, said Petersen, who works in the weather service’s Pueblo office…
Mandatory evacuation orders are also in effect for residents along the South Fork of the Rio Grande River, including in Del Norte, Monte Vista and South Fork. Part of southern Del Norte remained on pre-evacuation status. An updated evacuation map is available online. Roughly 2,773 people were evacuated, according to South Fork Fire Rescue. As of Monday morning, no injuries or missing people had been reported…The South Fork of the Rio Grande hit “major” flooding of 8.88 feet late Sunday night near South Fork and held relatively steady overnight. As of Monday morning, the river was still expected to rise near Del Norte and Monte Vista, according to NOAA flood gauges.