Homeless Outreach Teams evacuate creekside encampments around Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs, Colo., (KRDO) - With close-to-record rains and flash flood warnings around Colorado Springs, the homeless populations that camp around or under bridges and by streams are at high risk of being swept away.

Homeless Outreach Teams or "HOT" teams have been evacuating communities or people who are choosing to shelter under bridges or by streams, which are prone to flooding within seconds of a heavy downpour. When that team gets a notification from the weather service about heavy downpours, they will drive through homeless encampments to warn people of the danger they incur by staying there.

However, Sargeant Olav Chaney explained that it is not always easy to get people out from underneath bridges before storms. Today, he was evacuating Dorchester Park.

"But trying to convince them. We've had people say, 'I'm not moving, even though the waters are dangerously close to where they're at, that they're okay."

Chaney explained that when people fail to get out of risky areas, swift water rescue teams with the Fire Department have had to step in to save people's lives. Just last month, they had to rescue a man who stayed in a creek bed with his dog. The water rose to a foot deep within an hour.

Fire Chief Randy Royal also explained that six inches of water are enough to sweep a person away, and up to twelve inches is enough to take a small vehicle. Rising waters can turn deadly, too. In 2013, a 17-year-old girl died after sheltering under a bridge during a rain storm, when the water rose to twelve feet and swept her away.

The CSPD and Colorado Springs Fire Department are currently urging people to stay away from creeks and bridges during rain storms and call in drownings and get as high as possible during flash flood warnings.