Pueblo Catholic Diocese building’s roof torn open during storm
Tuesday morning, cleanup efforts were well underway throughout Pueblo due to Monday evening’s heavy rains and winds.
Some of the worst of the damage was at the old Catholic Diocese of Pueblo office building on North Grand Avenue.
The city of Pueblo condemned the use of the building for the foreseeable future, but KRDO was allowed inside and on the roof for a closer look at the damage.
Workers raced to clear all kinds of debris from the roof of the office building before more rain was predicted to arrive later in the day.
Monday evening, debris was being blown out onto Grand Avenue.
“The wind had blown the air conditioners on the roof and kind of peeled the roof towards the center,” said Father Derrek Scott with the Pueblo Catholic Diocese. “The wind was opening up some holes in our roof.”
As a result, rainwater came through, causing serious flooding damage to the inside. The building was being used for storage of a number of old items used by the church, as well as a classroom setting.
“It’s quite a shock to have this happen here,” said Scott. “We were just talking on Sunday about what we can do to utilize this building a little more.”
Total damage costs to the building aren’t clear yet.
With more rainfall expected to hit the Pueblo area, workers say they will tarp down the roof to prevent further flooding inside and keep debris from falling into the roads.
The storm also caused a number of problems for drivers in downtown Pueblo as well.
“The fire department responded on many, many calls of people stranded in water,” said Cpt. Woody Percival, the Pueblo Fire Department Public Information Officer.
There were eight instances, to be exact. Fortunately, none of them ended in serious personal injury. But with more rain and potential flooding in the forecast, the Pueblo Fire Department urges drivers not to risk it.
“A person cannot tell how deep water is when it’s standing still,” said Percival. “That’s what caused the problems, the drivers get into the water, and can’t get back out.”
Percival says that it only takes 18 inches of mildly moving water to move a vehicle.
According to Percival, most of the vehicles stuck in the water Monday evening were actually caused by road water getting into the ignition wires or spark plug of the vehicles, effectively shutting them down.
