(COLORADO SPRINGS) — The record-setting rainfall in the City of Colorado Springs has wreaked havoc on the city’s streets. In a press conference on June 13, city officials addressed their efforts in tackling the extreme flooding as the city faces another flash flood warning Tuesday evening.
Colorado Springs saw the largest two-day rainfall in the city’s history, leading to multiple road closures and multiple incidents. In the past two days, the city’s fire chief, Randy Royal, said they have responded to eight incidents.
“We did have eight incidents where we helped in rescues. Mainly those were vehicle rescues where people had driven into water and got stuck,” said Royal.
Stormwater investment has been one of the city’s main priorities for about a decade now.
During former Mayor John Suthers’ eight-year term, the city spent millions of dollars on stormwater projects and improvements.
However, the unprecedented rainfall is now restructuring their flood mitigation efforts. The influx of rain has been eye-opening for stormwater officials, with floods happening in areas they say they didn’t even know were high-risk.
The city’s stormwater division manager, Richard Mulledy, says they will now be shifting their focus to those areas.
“It is a very active and iterative process because we have a large list… and we prioritize that based on public health, safety, and welfare… That list that we had two weeks ago is dramatically different today,” said Mulledy.
Mulledy points to the areas that they have worked on and how those improvements did mitigate flooding.
“I can tell you that over the last several years, the flash flooding and the length of the duration of those floods has actually decreased,” said Mulledy.
As the city remains under severe weather and flash flood warnings, the Colorado Springs Fire Department is urging people to stay out of low-lying areas, such as creeks, and under bridges.
They say the people most at risk in these areas is the population experiencing homelessness, but the fire department and other outreach services do their best to notify them in advance.
“As we know that the storms are building, we’ll put patrols out there, extra patrols, and try to clear those folks out of there… and say, ‘Hey, you need to try to get up to higher ground’,” said Royal.
Royal says water can rise at an alarming rate, and warns parents that they should be aware of where their children are during extreme weather events.
“A lot of times, kids are down there in the creek playing, and it [the water level] can change so, so quickly that there’s none of us in this room would be strong enough to withstand that amount of water,” said Royal.
In the event of a dangerous situation, Royal says to always call the fire department, rather than try and tackle it yourself.
“We want to remind people that six inches of water is enough to sweep you away. We have good samaritans sometimes and see people stuck in the car thinking we’re going to walk out and help them. That’s a really bad plan because they can be swept away and become victims as well,” said Royal.
While the fire department is happy that the rain is making the city green, they are wary of when it starts to warm up again and the influx of leaves and long grass become abundant fire fuels.
