Pueblo firefighters rescued a woman after her vehicle was swept up in flooding from heavy rain over the weekend, and area residents spent Sunday cleaning up after the storm.
About 7 p.m., Saturday, the Pueblo Fire Department responded to a call about a motorist trapped by rising water at 29th Lane and Frontage Road in Pueblo.
Firefighters found a sport utility vehicle submerged under 8 feet of water. Four people had jumped in to rescue the driver.
“When we arrived on the scene, the woman driver and five other people were sitting on the roof of the vehicle,” said John Zupancic, assistant chief of the Pueblo Fire Department. “One of the rescuers had reached through the open driver’s-side window and pulled her out.”
Zupancic said that flooding was not unusual for the area but that the magnitude surprised rescuers.
“Usually it does get water, but not 8 feet.”
Around town, residents were cleaning up.
Saturday evening’s storm brought wind gusts of 69 mph in downtown Pueblo and left portions of streets flooded, said Jim Hall, spokesman for the National Weather Service.
“We have received 20 to 30 calls about electrical problems today, but otherwise, it has been quiet,” Zupancic said. “There isn’t a tree in the major thoroughfare without damage.”
Officials at the Colorado State Fair, which opened Friday, reported that cleanup efforts were completed by 10 p.m. Saturday.
“We are up and running again, just hoping we don’t get any more rain,” said Chris Wiseman, general manager for the fair.
Staff writer JP Eichmiller can be reached at 303-954-1835 or jeichmiller@denverpost.com.
