Flash flood innundates Pack Creek with debris

A filthy, slow-moving wall of soot, mud, and debris washed down the length of Pack Creek through Spanish Valley on July 25 after a monsoon storm hit the Pack Creek burn scar.

No one was injured in the slow-motion flash flood, which took several hours to make its way approximately ten miles through Spanish Valley and to the Colorado River.  

Forecasts for the storm estimated that more than an inch of rain would fall in an area of the La Sal Mountains that includes the 9,000-acre burn scar from the Pack Creek Fire.

The storm hit the burn area in the early afternoon and started the torrent. With no vegetation to hold the water, the rain simply washed through the burn scar and down the creek, taking tons of soot, mud, and debris with it.

No injuries were reported in the floods, but the wall of debris carried a host of items, including water tanks, whole trees, and other items.

The debris backed up behind a number of bridges, but there was no reported damage to the bridges. Waters flooded Sunny Acres Lane on the San Juan/Grand county line and the road was closed for several hours.

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