DENVER—A woman reportedly rescued after a deadly mudslide and flood in Manitou Springs was being treated at a hospital Monday, and authorities were investigating whether she is the last person unaccounted for after the storm.
City spokesman Dave Hunting said officials had not yet confirmed whether the woman at Penrose Hospital in nearby Colorado Springs was the third and final person to be accounted for after the tragedy Friday.
Penrose spokesman Johnny Rae identified her as Laura Hunter, 49. Rae said hospital officials believe she was rescued from a tree in Manitou (MAN’-ih-too) Springs.
That matches accounts of the missing woman that witnesses gave police.
Hunter was in fair condition and planned to speak to reporters later Monday. Rae said he couldn’t discuss her injuries.
The mudslide and flash flood struck Friday after about 1.3 inches of rain fell in an area above Manitou Springs burned by the Waldo Canyon Fire last year. The fire destroyed 347 homes, killed two people and burned more than 28 square miles.
Areas burned by wildfires are vulnerable to flash floods because the scorched soil absorbs less water. Friday’s rain swept mud, boulders and other debris into Manitou Springs.
The National Weather Service warned more flooding was possible. A flash flood watch was issued for the area for Monday afternoon.
El Paso County sheriff’s deputies said John Collins, 53, of Teller County was killed by the mudslide on U.S. 24 in Manitou Springs.
Collins was found buried beneath of debris outside his vehicle. It was unclear if Collins left his vehicle on his own or if the debris and water forced him from it.
Two other people were missing or unaccounted for after the storm. One was located Saturday and the other Sunday.
At least 20 cars were swept away by the floods.
Kathryn Presnal of Cascade told The Gazette () she got out of her Nissan Versa and scrambled up a cliff, stopping to help another driver stranded by the flood.
“I grabbed her hand and pulled her up,” said Presnal, a school principal in Colorado Springs. “We stood there and watched our cars float away.”
The mudslide destroyed six houses and damaged more than 30 others, said Hunting, the city spokesman. Natural gas lines were also damaged.
Hunting said the city, county and U.S. Forest Service are trying to blunt the effects of flooding after the wildfire with steps including the construction of basins in the burn area to catch sediment.
“With the amount of rain that we received Friday, nothing that we could have done could have prevented the kind of flooding we had,” Hunting said. “Just Mother Nature doing her thing.”
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