During its regular meeting held on Nov. 10, the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) approved a letter of support addressed to President Donald Trump for the major disaster declaration requesting federal assistance for flood recovery.
The letter explains that the October 2026 flooding events were driven by “an extraordinary convergence of weather conditions.”
The letter states, “We respectfully urge your immediate approval of federal disaster assistance to help our communities recover from the historic flooding and destructive debris flows that devastated our region.
“We have endured devastating, back-to-back floods, being forced to absorb repeated destruction, including from the damaging flooding in October 2025, which already significantly strained our resources. This disaster is particularly devastating because it follows repeated, back-to-back autumn flooding events, including the significant flooding of October 2025, which had already placed tremendous strain on our infrastructure, emergency response capabilities, and local budgets.”
The letter also explains that over the past 12 months, Colorado has managed 12 declared disasters.
“With an incoming winter storm cycle threatening secondary washouts on already fragile, waterlogged terrain, our rural communities need help from FEMA,” the letter states.
It adds that the destruction of essential public infrastructure has been extensive and that joint preliminary damage assessments have already validated $26.99 million in “Public Assistance-eligible damages in Archuleta and Rio Grande counties alone, more than twice Colorado’s statewide per capita threshold.”
The letter also notes that the full extent of destruction has not been captured yet.
The letter points out validated damages that include $10.6 million in damage to roads, bridges and culverts, including washout points along County Road 500.
“These transportation failures have disrupted access, compromised public safety, and threatened residents’ and emergency responders’ ability to reach essential services,” the letter states.
It also explains that $8.59 million in damage to river parks and recreational infrastructure in Pagosa Springs has been validated, along with more than $2.4 million in “critical utility damage, including municipal lift stations taken offline, destroyed sewer mains, damage to sanitation districts, and contamination of dozens of rural private domestic water wells with E. coli.
“These impacts threaten public health, sanitation, and the reliable delivery of essential services,” it states.
The letter goes on to explain that federal assistance is “essential” to restoring damaged infrastructure and supporting the community in recovery efforts.
The letter can be viewed in its entirety at www.archuletacounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/Letter-to-President-for-Federal-Disaster-Assistance.pdf.
clayton@pagosasun.com
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