San Juan County ordered Bluff, Utah residents south of Highway 191/Main Street to evacuate at 8:30 p.m. Sunday as floodwaters from the San Juan River reached the town. The county told people on the river side to leave immediately and head north toward Blanding.
“Floodwaters are reaching Bluff, and conditions are changing rapidly,” the county wrote in its warning. It added: “If you live south of Highway 191/Main Street (the river side), leave immediately. Do not wait.”
Montezuma Creek and Aneth
The Bluff order followed an evacuation notice for Montezuma Creek and Aneth that the Navajo Nation Department of Emergency Management issued at 11:15 p.m. Saturday. Around 150 people from those communities evacuated Saturday night into Sunday, and two shelters were opened for evacuees.
One shelter was set up in Montezuma Creek at Aneth Community School, 162 San Juan County Road #466. The other was set up in Blanding at San Juan High School, 311 North Bronco Blvd. The Navajo Police Department told evacuees to be prepared to be away from home for multiple days and to bring medications, identification, important documents, hygiene items, clothes, pillows, blankets, cellphones and chargers.
Buu Nygren on recovery
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said severe flooding continued to threaten Aneth and Montezuma Creek on Sunday, and he said recovery efforts would continue for the next several weeks. He said, “We’re going to be working on this not just the next couple of days but next several weeks,” and also said, “Navajo Nation has to respond to the devastation that we’re feeling.”
The flooding response is spreading across several communities at once. The National Weather Service identified Mexican Hat, Tselakai Dezza, Bluff, Halchita, Montezuma Creek and Aneth as places facing major flooding Sunday into Monday, while neighboring San Juan County, New Mexico, reported floodwaters receding in some areas as crews assessed hazards and worked with utility partners.
Chantal Wadsworth in Shiprock
Chantal Wadsworth, co-founder of Rezroads Rescue in Shiprock, New Mexico, said road conditions are slowing travel across the area. “Ninety percent of the roads on a Navajo reservation are dirt roads. They’re not paved at all,” she said. “With the weather that has been happening, the roads are so muddy, they’re washed out. They’re pretty much like a stream now. So no one can basically drive out and get to safety.”
For Bluff residents south of Highway 191/Main Street, the immediate choice is simple: leave for Blanding and stay off flooded roads. For families in Montezuma Creek and Aneth, the shelters already in place suggest they may need to be away for days as the river keeps moving through the system.
