11/01/2026
Please remain safe, Pagosa 🙏🙏
URGENT FLOOD WARNING: EVACUATE NOW!
The updated forecast calls for flooding above historic levels. The San Juan River could crest as high as 19.71 feet around 11:00 p.m. tonight.
If you are in an evacuation zone, you must leave now. This includes all low-lying areas along the San Juan, Rio Blanco, Navajo, and Piedra Rivers.
Do not wait for the water to rise. Do not wait for another warning. Leave now.
Our ability to respond during the worst of this storm will be extremely limited. Helicopters will be grounded, and first responders may not be able to reach people in danger until the storm passes and conditions improve.
We are pre-positioning resources in high-risk areas so teams can respond as quickly as conditions allow. We are also bringing in additional assistance, including:
• Additional ground Search and Rescue teams and equipment with the Colorado National Guard
• Additional aircraft and air support.
• Specialized rescue teams.
These resources are expected to arrive today and will be ready to respond as conditions allow.
Highway 160 will be closed to all traffic coming into Pagosa Springs at 4:00 PM today to reduce traffic within town. Evacuation from town will be allowed. The specific location of those closures will be provided later today.
We are making plans and bringing in additional help, but the most important thing you can do right now is get yourself and your family to safety.
To put the forecast into perspective, during the devastating 1911 flood that wiped out most of what existed as the town of Pagosa at that time, the San Juan River crested at approximately 17.8 feet. The current forecast calls for the river to rise nearly 2 feet above that historic level.
This is a potentially catastrophic flood event. Extensive damage is expected.
If you are in an evacuation area, have medical needs, rely on electrically powered medical equipment, or feel unsafe for any reason, please move to a safe location now.
Do not put your life or the lives of first responders at risk by waiting too long.
Please take this warning seriously. Leave now.