Colorado's Pagosa Springs braces for record San Juan River crest, orders evacuations
The gist
A new storm pushed the San Juan River toward a forecast crest of up to 19.71 feet at Pagosa Springs, above the 1911 record of about 17.8 feet.
The town ordered mandatory evacuations and barred incoming traffic as sewage entered the river.
How it unfolded
- Oct 22, 2026Pagosa Springs Mayor Shari Pierce and Town Manager David Harris declared a local disaster emergency; an evacuation warning went out around 1:30 p.m. and a mandatory evacuation for low-lying areas at 2:35 p.m.
- Oct 23, 2026The San Juan River peaked at 15.02 feet around 5:45 a.m., the second highest flooding event on record; schools closed and Wolf Creek Pass on Highway 160 shut.
- Oct 27, 2026Commissioner Warren Brown said 800 structures in the county were impacted, 540 of them homes; Wolf Creek Pass reopened to single lanes in damaged areas.