Strong winds blew through the Vallecito area Sunday, knocking down trees and multiple power lines and forcing power to be shut off north of the Vallecito Marina to reduce fire danger.
“It’s just by the grace of God we did not have a wildfire start,” said Bruce Evans, Upper Pine Fire Protection District chief.
Wind gusts reached 50 mph, and Evans said eight power lines were blown down, one of which landed on the tin roof of a home.
“You can imagine electricity making contact with a metal roof,” he said. “It really is pretty amazing that a house didn’t start on fire,” he said.
Wind felled trees also blocked several roads, and did some property damage to homes in the area.
The fire danger posed by downed power lines near forested areas and homes prompted La Plata Electric Association to shut off power to the area for several hours Sunday.
“We were stretching ourselves really thin … to the point where we didn’t have enough people to suppress a fire if – when – it started up there,” Evans said.
By about 5 a.m. Monday, LPEA had restored power to all meters in the Vallecito area. According to a Facebook post, line crews spent the night patrolling lines, removing trees and making repairs.
The wind also hampered a kayak rescue on Vallecito Reservoir.
An initial rescue attempt was made with a helicopter, but choppy water conditions made the rescue too difficult, Evans said.
Cold suits and tag lines – rescue techniques utilized at Lemon Reservoir in the past, were also not an option this time since the two kayakers had been blown too far from the reservoir’s shore.
The La Plata County Sheriff’s Office ended up commandeering a boat to complete the rescue successfully. One of the rescued kayakers was taken to Mercy Hospital in critical condition after being dumped from his boat and becoming hypothermic, Evans said.
Windstorms are common on Colorado’s Front Range, where recent storms have resulted in dayslong power shutoffs and evacuations.
This was the first storm of similar magnitude in Vallecito for at least the past decade, said Chuck Freeman.
“We’ve lived here 10 years and we haven’t experienced this kind of wind,” he said.
Evans said he anticipates similar windstorms will return and that Upper Pine and LPEA are working on conducting drills in the next few months.
Looking ahead, winds are expected to be less intense for at least the next few days because of high pressure building to the south, which will keep the jet stream positioned farther north and generally promote calmer surface conditions, said Gillian Felton, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction.
jbowman@durangoherald.com
