More than 100 evacuated after mudslides in Chaffee County

The Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office said 100 to 150 campers evacuated after six mudslides Thursday evening.

Undersheriff Derek Bos said the slides buried County Road 344, the access road to Cottonwood Lake and a nearby campground, in as much as 12 feet of mud and rock.

“There’s also water flowing over the road,” Bos said. “A 4-mile section is affected. We’ve had a lot of rain and snowmelt. Other slides could happen at any time.”

The first mudslides began around 4:30 p.m. Thursday, and campers, including several area residents, evacuated by 9 p.m., Bos said.

“We got some loaders up there to dig on the road so that we could evacuate the campground,” he said.

Bos said no one was hurt and no personal property was damaged.

The Red Cross opened a shelter for evacuees at Buena Vista High School. Authorities said around 12 campers spent the night there and the shelter closed at noon Friday.

One of the evacuees is a Missouri man who hopes to salvage the rest of his vacation.

“We didn’t even get to unload our kayaks before the mudslides came,” Paul Rehbein of Washington, Mo., said. “I love it here, but now I guess I’ll go to Leadville and set up camp there.”

Authorities allowed evacuees to return briefly on Friday and recover any belongings left behind. Many others were turned away, disappointed.

“There was a lot of stress over not knowing what would be there,” said Stephanie McDonald, a Red Cross nurse. “But people were in good spirits for the most part.”

Bos said the area won’t reopen until drier weather comes and allows workers to conduct a thorough cleanup.

A bridge near the lake was in danger of washing out from a flash flood, Bos said, but a seventh mudslide Friday morning diverted the flood away from the bridge.