Communities throughout western Colorado and the mountains were scrambling Friday for sandbags to protect homes and property as the snowmelt – accelerated by unseasonably warm temperatures – caused some rivers to swell.
On the Western Slope, Minnesota Creek was overflowing into local parks in Paonia, said Delta County emergency manager Rob Fiedler.
“We are definitely experiencing some minor flooding at the moment,” Fiedler said Friday afternoon. “There aren’t any residences involved at the time, but that could change momentarily.”
Surface Creek, which runs through Cedaredge, east of Grand Junction, flooded onto local roads and could put some homes in danger, Fiedler said.
Because the county hasn’t experienced major flooding since 1994, many waterways have been clogged with debris, creating virtual dams, he said.
Residents in that area are placing sandbags around head gates and irrigation canals. Meanwhile, city officials plan to fill more sandbags to place along the local bridges and roads, Fiedler said.
In Gunnison, the weather has cooperated for the most part, although waterways that feed into and out of Blue Mesa Reservoir are starting to surge.
“The rivers have begun to rise, but they haven’t hit any flood levels yet,” said Sean McCormick of the Gunnison County public services department. “City and county officials have stepped up their preparedness, ordering sandbags and other equipment for possible flooding.”
The recent warm weather melted the ice on Lake Dillon on Tuesday and Wednesday, prompting managers of the 3Dillon Marina to plan to rent boats this weekend.
The thaw came a couple of weeks later than it did last year, but it still provided time to prepare for the coming week’s rush of vacationers.
“It’s sort of our dry run for Memorial Day weekend,” office manager Patricia Morinelli said. “The water’s coming up nicely, and the weather is gorgeous.”
The Arkansas River Valley has received a significant amount of water in the past few days, said Greg Felt of Salida, operations manager at Ark Ang lers, a fly-fishing shop.
“It’s definitely coming up quickly,” Felt said. “But we still consider it to be low water.”
Tom Browning of the Colorado Water Conservation Board said areas being monitored for flooding include north and south Grand Mesa, the Rio Grande basin, the eastern San Luis Valley, the San Juan Mountains and the southern Arkansas River basin.
In the Denver area, flooding was not a concern – at least not yet – as the city recorded its highest temperature of the year.
Denver tied the record for May 20 of 91 degrees, set in 1954.
But the weather in Denver is expected to be milder this weekend, with high temperatures in the 80s and even the 70s along the northern Front Range.
Those living along the Western Slope are expected to still see temperatures in the 90s through the early part of the week.
Staff writer Kris Hudson contributed to this report.
Staff writer Daarel Burnette II can be reached at 303-820-1201 or dburnette@denverpost.com.