San Juan National Forest is assisting forest visitors and clearing roadways

Staff on the San Juan National Forest are working in lockstep with counties and the National Guard to access hunters and forest visitors trapped behind road washouts, landslides and high-water crossings.

The number of road failures on the Pagosa and Columbine Ranger Districts are numerous and, in many cases, too substantial to rebuild and repair prior to winter. Crews are working to clear roads where they can evacuate visitors.

If you know of a forest visitor trapped down an unpassable road who needs evacuation help in:

• Archuleta County, call 9-1-1 or the nonemergency dispatch line at (970) 731-2160 when they are ready to be evacuated.
• La Plata County, call 9-1-1 if an emergency, or nonemergency dispatch at (970) 385-2900.

Please report abandoned property information if you are forced to leave vehicles behind by emailing the San Juan National Forest at sm.fs.sanjuannf@usda.gov with the subject line of "Personal Property." Please provide your name, phone number, license plates, description of property and a detailed location, in addition to any other pertinent information.

Support your community and avoid going onto saturated roads on the San Juan National Forest even if they are open. Just because they are passable now does not mean they will be when you turn around. First responders are put into high-risk situations to rescue trapped visitors, and this also takes resources from higher-need areas.

Visit the San Juan National Forest Conditions page for the most up-to-date information on road conditions as well as maps of road closures. Please note, this list changes frequently as engineers and crews carefully assess conditions. Trails conditions will be assessed as staffing levels permit. Individual trails and campgrounds will be updated on the San Juan National Forest Recreation website.

Critical safety reminders:

• It is imperative that visitors do not try to ford water crossings on roads and trails, a practice that can easily prove deadly.
• If infrastructure such as bridges or culverts appears damaged and are not noted on the Conditions or Recreation webpages, please report it to the information line voicemail at (970) 501-5830 and do not attempt to cross.
• Do not try to drive around damaged areas, a practice that is illegal, destructive and dangerous.
• Please respect closure signage to reduce the need for rescue and to reduce additional damage when resources are extremely limited.

For information on the San Juan National Forest, call (970) 247-4874, visit the forest website, or follow us on Facebook.