ARCHULETA AND LA PLATA COUNTIES, Colo. — Cleanup efforts continue in Archuleta and La Plata counties after flooding damaged as many as 100 homes in the area earlier this month. And volunteer organizations are doing their part to help residents remove mud and debris.
“Many houses had a lot of damage to them. There were a couple that were destroyed, but it was just a blessing that it wasn't worse than it could have been,” said Dennis Belz, the director of Colorado Baptist Disaster Relief, or CBDR.
Deputies evacuated hundreds of people along the San Juan and Blanco rivers on Monday, Oct. 13, as the area received heavy rainfall from back-to-back tropical storms.
Flood waters from those storms reached 13 feet high in some areas and in La Plata County, 390 homes were evacuated as a precaution.
That’s where volunteers with Colorado Baptist Disaster Relief started their mission this week — in the town of Bayfield, where many homes were flooded.
“Even if you've got a few inches of water and it seeps up into the drywall, mold and mildew already have started after just two days, and that becomes a health issue, and people don't realize it, and that's when they start getting sick,” Belz said.
CBDR volunteers cleaned water and mud out of homes, removed drywall, pressure-washed, and then sprayed the homes to kill the mold.
CBDR is a nonprofit organization of volunteers that helps after disasters like floods, fires, and tornadoes. Volunteers are trained, credentialed, and background checked. They rely on donations, gifts, and grants from organizations and churches.
Next week, they plan to help residents in Pagosa Springs, but this time they will bring their mobile laundry unit.
Belz told Denver7 there are about 50 to 70 homes in Pagosa Springs that have been affected by the flooding.
“It's a very dirty job, but we're glad that we can be there to help people in need, as we bring the help, hope and healing to them,” Belz said.
CBDR has 15 to 20 volunteers who plan to start work next week in Pagosa Springs, but they have not yet sourced food for their volunteers there.
Anyone willing to coordinate can contact CBDR by email at dbelz@coloradobaptists.org.
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