Historic flooding hits Colorado's Pagosa Springs. Again

(3 Nov 2026) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Pagosa Springs, Colorado - 3 November 2026 1. Wide of mud-covered streets and a building in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, after severe flooding 2. Wide of sandbags and a sign reading (English): "Love Pagosa" at the entrance of The Springs Bath House in flood-affected Pagosa Springs, Colorado 3. Wide of flood debris surrounding Pagosa Springs Visitor Center in Colorado 4. Wide of swollen river surging through Pagosa Springs, Colorado, amid severe flooding 5. Wide of floodwaters rushing through Pagosa Springs 6. Wide of flood-damaged hot springs area 7. Wide of floodwaters surging through Pagosa Springs, submerging structures and debris 8. Wide of floodwaters submerging a sign and debris 9. Wide of a bulldozer clearing mud from street 10. Mid of a Jack Ellis, resident and retired school teacher, photographing floodwaters in Pagosa Springs, Colorado 11. SOUNDBITE (English) Jack Ellis, resident and retired school teacher: "This year had a drought, and then we had rain for three weeks in a row, and then you get the river behind us the way it is. This is quite a disaster for everybody, especially in the low-lying areas." 12. Mid of a person capturing the flooding in Pagosa Springs, on their phone amidst foggy conditions 13. SOUNDBITE (English) Jack Ellis, resident and retired school teacher: "We dig in and dig out, and that's what it, what it's going to take, and I hope...I hope the federal government helps out a little bit. I know we're a blue state, and I just hope that they come through because we all pay taxes and we all work for each other in a time like this." 14. Wide of floodwaters surrounding buildings in Pagosa Springs 15. Wide of caution tape blocking a bridge in flood-affected area 16. Wide of swollen river threatening to overflow a bridge 17. Various of floodwaters surging, damaged infrastructure 18. Various of a bulldozer clearing mud and debris in flood-hit Pagosa Springs STORYLINE: The skies were clearing, but the risk of flooding remained over parts of the U.S. Southwest after powerful downpours sent massive amounts of water surging over the usually dry landscape, forcing hundreds to evacuate and keeping swift-water rescue teams busy. Officials said cleanup and repair efforts could take weeks. One person died in the floodwaters and police suspect a second death was weather-related. The National Weather Service said Monday that isolated cloudbursts were still possible across the Four Corners region — where New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah meet — as the phenomenon stoked by warming Pacific waters known as El Niño disrupts weather patterns. Damage was widespread in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, a town of about 2,000. Officials feared the San Juan River that flows through it would top the level that nearly wiped out the town in 1911. The river reached 16.81 feet (5.1 meters) Sunday — a foot lower than the historic level — flooding downtown streets before receding Monday, the weather service said. Jack Ellis, a retired school teacher in Colorado, said, "This year had a drought, and then we had rain for three weeks in a row, and then you get the river behind us the way it is. This is quite a disaster for everybody, especially in the low-lying areas." Ellis sought help from the U.S. government and said, " I know we're a blue state, and I just hope that they come through because we all pay taxes and we all work for each other in a time like this." AP video shot by Brittany Peterson =========================================================== Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/44c5068d7eb347bd86c150bf1480bc50