Flash Flooding Hits Hard along Highway 50

Flash flooding along Hwy. 50. It forced some pre-evacuations in eastern Pueblo County, near Fowler.

This happened east of 63rd Lane and Hwy. 50 where the Highline and Oxford canals overflowed. Since the canals overflowed, parts of Hwy. 50 north of Napesta were flooding.

Water flowing out of the canal caused 911 calls to the Fowler Fire Department. That’s when fire, the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office, and emergency services had to block off Napesta rd between Hwy. 50 to 96.

“It started dumping into the second canal that’s below that and overflow in that one as well. so at that point we evacuated some people downstream – had to move them to higher ground,” said Fowler Fire Chief Tracy Nelson.

Meanwhile further west on Hwy. 50 in Pueblo off 23rd Lane, we found a family that came home to a pond around and inside their home.

A tree limb smashed Randy Rhule’s car and broke the back window. A couple feet of water surrounded the house. Debris and a garbage can clogged the storm drains cursing the flooding.

The Rhule’s first floor is soaked and muddy. This was all happening while the whole family was at work and their three dogs were inside braving the flood.

“I had to crawl through the window and insane my room and it was scary. It was up to here,” gestured Megan Rhule to her knees.

Her father Randy Rhule said, “We didn’t want to open the doors because the water was higher outside than it was inside.”

It’s going to take serious work for the Rhule’s to clean up their flooded home, but they seemed optimistic knowing their dogs and no one else got hurt.