South Conejos School District in southern Colorado will be closed Monday, November 2, because of mandatory evacuations, Superintendent Joshua G. Lopez said in a notice to families Sunday evening.
The district's notice lists evacuation areas extending from Platoro down the Conejos River canyon, including Fox Creek, Mogote, Cañon, Ortiz, San Antonio and Guadalupe. It tells families to follow local emergency instructions, avoid floodwater and stay behind road barricades. The closure announcement applies to South Conejos School District, not every school in Conejos County.
The National Weather Service in Pueblo has separate flood warnings for western and eastern Conejos County through 4:15 p.m. MST Monday, or 3:15 p.m. Pacific. The warning deadline is not a school reopening announcement or permission to return to an evacuated area.
In the west, the agency says rain and melting snow are causing flooding near Platoro, Cumbres Pass and areas along Colorado 17. Another 2 to 3 inches of rain is possible. In the east, it reports flooding already occurring, numerous roads closed and streams still rising. That warning includes Antonito, La Jara, Manassa, Sanford, Romeo, Capulin, Conejos, Bountiful and Ortiz, with another 1 to 2 inches of rain possible.
Colorado Public Radio reported Sunday that the warmer storm is sending rain and snowmelt downstream onto ground already saturated by last week's storm.
The district says emergency shelter is available at Knights of Columbus Hall in La Jara. Families needing help evacuating can call Conejos County Dispatch at 719-589-5807, according to its notice. Drivers should turn around at flooded roads and follow instructions from local emergency officials.
