At least 17 people were rescued from flooding and debris flows in the Cutler Creek area between Ridgway and Ouray on Wednesday night, authorities said this morning.

At least three homes in Ponderosa Village, two homes along County Road 23 and one home on Dexter Creek were damaged by flooding and debris flows triggered by heavy rain that fell along the Gold Mountain burn scar, Ouray County Emergency Manager Glenn Boyd said during an emergency meeting of the Board of County Commissioners.

The Ouray County Sheriff’s Office issued an evacuation order Wednesday night for the east side of U.S. Highway 550 between Old School Road and Citadel Drive, an area that includes the Ponderosa Village subdivision. Undersheriff Tammy Stroup said most people in the area stayed behind, but the 17 people who were rescued from two homes were visitors who rented vacation rentals.

“They were not familiar with the area or what to expect,” she said.

Boyd said firefighters and emergency medical personnel helped those 17 people out of their homes. He said they were stuck on the second floor because debris was flowing through the first floor.

The good news, Boyd said, is nobody was injured.

County Attorney Leo Caselli said authorities have contacted the vacation rental company and asked it to cease reservations in the flooded area.

Boyd said at least three homes in Ponderosa Village were “damaged significantly.” A home along Dexter Creek also sustained debris damage, and officials were working to find shelter for about 60 pigs that live at the property on Dexter Creek. Two homes along County Road 23 also sustained debris damage. Damage assessment teams were in the flooded areas today attempting to determine the extent of the damage, Boyd said.

Colorado Department of Transportation crews worked to clear debris from Cutler Creek on Thursday morning, in the same place the crews worked to clear debris from flooding that happened Sunday. U.S. Highway 550 is narrowed to one lane as the crews dredge the mud and remove debris. Photo by James Hanlon – Ouray County Plaindealer

The heavy rain triggered flooding and debris flows that forced Cutler Creek out of its banks. Video from Ponderosa Village resident Dave Sellers showed a dark brown river of water, mud and debris rushing down Blue Tip Drive. Caselli said county road and bridge crews were able to return the creek within its banks.

Boyd said authorities were also dealing with a natural gas line break on Blue Tip Drive on Wednesday night. They were able to shut off the gas, but a gas service outage remains in Ponderosa Village.

Boyd said the flow of water was so strong that it pushed two shipping containers about 100 yards.

“This isn’t your normal runoff that you’re used to,” he said. “The power of this water yesterday was extreme, extreme to the fact that it moved motor homes and shipping containers.”

He urged the public to head flash flood warnings like the one the county issued Wednesday night, and the one before it on Sunday.

“When we issue that flash flood warning, that means it’s imminent and it’s going to come,” he said.

Boyd said he’s heard some people ask whether Wednesday night’s flooding and debris flows will be the only event.

Muddy, charred debris piled up on the side of U.S Highway 550 near Ponderosa Village on Thursday morning. Photo by James Hanlon – Ouray County Plaindealer

“That’s absolutely not the case,” he said, noting it’s likely the next event will be worse because floods and mudslides create a path for future debris flows.

Caselli said homeowners affected by Wednesday night’s flooding and debris flows should contact their insurance companies and a flood mitigation company immediately. For anyone living within the burn scar, they should also call their insurance company right away and purchase flood and debris flow coverage, he said.

Caselli and Boyd noted that property owners within the burn scar can apply for and receive that coverage right away, rather than having to wait 30 days, as the Federal Emergency Management Agency normally requires.

Heavy rain triggered flooding and mudslides in other areas of southern Ouray County outside the Gold Mountain burn scar. Several mudslides on Red Mountain Pass forced the closure of U.S. Highway 550 between Ouray and Silverton. The highway remained closed Thursday morning, although Boyd said officials hoped to reopen one lane “soon.”

A mudslide also closed Oak Street in Ouray, and rockslides closed Imogene Pass and Engineer Pass. Oak Street had reopened by Thursday morning, according to the city of Ouray.

County leaders are working to secure flood mitigation help through a federal program with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. That program will allow officials to install sand bags, debris fences and other materials. Deputy County Attorney Bob Perry, who is leading that effort, said the county is moving as quickly as possible but still has to jump through some hoops before that work can begin.