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Colorado Sun Wednesday 10/28/2026 · Colorado Sun

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Hello, this is the Colorado Sun for Wednesday, October 28th, 2026.
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My name is Candace Einbeck.
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Thank you for joining us.
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Today we will be reading the following main articles.
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Colorado's hottest congressional race may surprise you.
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Denver Water wants to hire lawn patrol staff.
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And answers to your question about Amendment 87.
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So we'll start now.
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Colorado's hottest congressional race may surprise you.
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It has everything a potential flip, ads about ads, and lots of cash.
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Move over Den Colorado's eighth congressional district, the race in Colorado's fifth congressional district between Republican US Representative Jeff Crank and his Democratic
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challenger Jessica Killen is taking center stage in the final week before election day.
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This is reported by Jessica Paul.
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excuse me.
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Correction.
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This is reported by Jessie Paul.
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Colorado Springs, it's a Saturday night, but the parking lot outside a Union Hall here, a city known for its Republican bona feeds, is overflowing ahead of a political rally for
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Democratic congressional candidate Jessica Killen.
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Her long shot bid to represent the fifth congressional district is looking more like a three pointer these days.
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Still tough, but absolutely makeable.
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Quote, no one, mark my words, no one other than me and maybe Emily and my parents believed in this race, Killen told the crowd last weekend, referencing her campaign manager, Emily
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Daglish.
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Literally no one.
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Ten years ago, you could have joked that every Democrat in that union hall was every Democrat in El Paso County, which is home to the Fifth District.
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But Colorado Springs has changed a lot over the past decade.
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It's less focused on the family and more focused on keeping its options open.
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In twenty twenty, unaffiliated voters became the largest share of the country's electorate.
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Eclipsing ex correction, in twenty twenty, unaffiliated voters became the largest share of the county's electorate, eclipsing Republicans, and in recent election the Democrats have
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been capturing an increasing share of the vote.
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Entering this election cycle, both parties thought the race in the district
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whose voters have not sent a Democrat to Washington, D.C.
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in the 54 years since it was created, might be competitive.
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But at this point, the 5th District is starting to rival Colorado's toss-up, 8th Congressional District, north of Denver, as a National Democrat's top prize in the state
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this year.
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The party is feeling so confident about its chances in the 8th district that it has turned more of its attention to the historically red 5th district, where polling shows Killen is
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essentially tied
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with Republican US Representative Jeff Crank.
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Democrats feel they need to win the 8th district to take control of the U.S.
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House, but a win in the 5th district would mean something more.
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It would send a statement about how voters feel about Donald Trump and congressional Republicans.
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It would also be one of Democrats' most notable wins in the nation on election night.
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After all, Crank beat his Democratic opponent in the 5th district by 14 percentage points in 2024.
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And Trump won El Paso County two years ago by about 10 points.
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Last election, Democrats effectively ignored the 5th District, but Killen's rally Saturday attracted a who's who of Colorado Democrats.
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Two sitting members of Congress, Attorney General Phil Weiser, current and former state lawmakers, and a former lieutenant governor.
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Quote, So goes the 5th Congressional District, so goes the U.S.
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House of Representatives.
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U.S.
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Representative Joe Nagoose, a Lafayette Democrat, told the crowd, and so goes the House of Representatives, so goes the fate of our republic.
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Nagoose has used a similar line before to talk about the Eighth District.
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While the Eighth District is still Colorado's most expensive congressional race this year, at more than thirty two million dollars in super PAC spending reported through Monday
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morning, including the primary.
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The fifth district is no slouch at seven million through the same period, according to Open Secrets, a website that tracks campaign money.
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Most of the outside spending has been to crank's benefit.
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The Trump tied No Going Back PAC has spent about two point five million dollars on the race to help crank, while Conservatives for American Excellence and Americans for
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Prosperity Action, two Republican groups have been
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have each each spent about one million dollars on the race to aid the congressman.
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The House Majority PAC, linked to House Minority Leader Hakim Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, has dropped about $700,000 on the race to help Killen, while two other
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Democratic groups, American Bridge 21st Century and Women Vote, have each spent about $500,000 on the race to the Democrats' benefit.
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The candidates are raising and spending a lot of cash too.
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Through October 14th, Crank reported raising about $3 million for his reelection bid and spending about $2.5 million.
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Killen had raised about $5.6 million through mid-October, including more than $1 million in personal funds she gave to her campaign.
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She had spent roughly $5 million of that.
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All of that money has gone toward flooding airways in the district with ads, with Killen and Crank and the groups backing them.
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Throwing a dizzying combination of jabs and accusations about Jeffrey Epstein, Trump, President Joe Biden, pornography, and lobbying.
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There are even ads about ads.
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Outside spending in the district two years ago was essentially limited to the Republican primary, where Crank defeated then Colorado GOP chairman Dave Williams.
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Crank's Democratic opponent in 2024, political newcomer River Gasson, got very little help.
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Crank has mostly kept a low profile on the 2026 campaign trail.
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Nick Trainer, a campaign advisor for the Congressman, brushed off the race's apparent competitiveness in a written statement.
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He suggested that Killen has kept a home outside of Washington, D.C., after moving back to Colorado to run for Congress last year because she knew she was going to lose.
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Daglesh, Killen's campaign manager, said keeping the East Coast home was a decision made for family reasons.
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Quote, Jessica and her husband still own a home where her stepkids and their mother live, allowing her husband to be engaged in the kids' lives and be an active co-parent, Daglaish
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said.
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Killen grew up in Colorado Springs before leaving to serve in the Army.
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She then became a lawyer, worked as a lobbyist for the United Services Automobile Association, or USAA, and then went on to take jobs as chiefs of staff to do Democratic
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members of Congress.
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Most recently, Killen was Chief of Staff to Doug Emhoff, the husband of then Vice President Kamala Harris.
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During Killen's time in the White House, she was also an advisor to Biden.
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State records show she registered to vote in Colorado in July of 2025.
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She launched her campaign around the same time.
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Before his election to Congress in 2024, Crank, who was born and raised in Pueblo,
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A local and national leadership positions at the conservative nonprofit Americans for Prosperity.
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He was also a local conservative commentator.
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Crank ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2006 and 2008.
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In the 1990s, he was a staffer for Republican U.S.
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Representative Joe Joel Hefley, who held the 5th district seat before taking a job with the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce.
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Craig is running on tax cuts he voted for as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year, but otherwise has spent most of his time attacking Killen's background.
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Killen has touted her military service, but similarly has focused her campaign on criticism of Crank and the congressman's connections to Trump.
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Democratic voters in the 5th district are cautiously optimistic about Killen's chances with less than a week until Election Day.
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Quote, we shall see.
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Ray Taylor, a Democratic voter from Colorado Springs, said at Killen's rally.
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Susan Taylor, another Democratic voter at the rally, who is unrelated to Ray Taylor and lives in Cascade on the western edge of the 5th District, said Killen wasn't her first
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choice to take on crank in the general election.
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Quote, let me put it this way I've a Jessica sign in my front yard, but I'm not as enthusiastic as I was about another candidate, Susan Taylor said, explaining she backed
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the Democratic.
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Joe Regan in the primary.
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Despite misgivings that Killen is too centrist, quote, I would take her a million times over crank, yes.
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Susan Taylor said her dislike of crank goes beyond party affiliation, citing an interaction she had with his office over veterans' issues that left her feeling like his
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staff didn't care.
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Killen acknowledged Saturday that it's a challenge running as a Democrat in a district that has long been controlled by Republicans.
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That representing such a district in Washington may be just as tough.
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She warned her supporters that the political dynamic may cause some friction if she wins.
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Quote, I may not always vote in a way that you love, she said Saturday, but I will always explain my vote.
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I will always answer to you.
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I will always be accountable to you because that is what the job is.
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But she also promised to be a check on the Trump administration, which she labeled chaotic, corrupt, lawless, and horrific.
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Quote,
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I don't need to tell you how Jeff Crank has uh expletive deleted the bed, Killen said.
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As of Monday night, about one hundred twenty one thousand ballots had been returned in El Paso County, all but a sliver of which isn't in this fifth district, forty three percent
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from unaffiliated voters, thirty two percent from Republican voters, and twenty three percent from Democratic voters.
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Unaffiliated make up the majority of the
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of the fifth district electorate at fifty three percent.
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Our next story Denver Water wants to hire lawn patrol staff to enforce restrictions next summer.
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Colorado's largest utility will vote today on a dedicated drought patrol staff, expecting water limits for much of twenty twenty seven.
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This is reported by Michael Booth.
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Denmer Water is pushing for rate increases for irrigation in expectation of drought restrictions continuing through at least the first part of next summer, as well as new
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lawn patrol staff to enforce tight restrictions.
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The proposal up for a final board vote emphasizes higher rates for heavy water use, meant to lean more heavily on homeowners with large irrigated lawns who are draining resources
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amid the ongoing drought.
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Billpayers for the average single family home.
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Among Denver V Waters 1.5 million customers would see monthly charges rise 5.7% to $620.21.
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Suburban customers served by Denver Waters resources would see their rates rise 7.9% to an average of $61.57 a month.
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Denver Water says it's spotlighting the fairness issue by actually lowering the price.
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For the first tier of use, which is based on average essential indoor use in a year.
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The top 5% of city users with profligate outdoor watering, meanwhile, will spend a total of $98 more in all of 2027.
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In addition to holding revenue steady while drought aware customers cut back on use, the higher rates also fund Denver Water's ongoing major projects, like the expansion of Gross
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Reservoir in Boulder County.
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And replacing lead pipe connections in older neighborhoods.
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A staff proposal to the board created 15 temporary positions for summer 2027 at $25 an hour to more than double warnings and violations from 2026 levels.
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Having a dedicated staff would, quote, demonstrate that Denver water is enforcing its rules, the staff recommendations said.
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A 15-person water patrol would likely conduct
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twenty five hundred to thirty five hundred stops or violations per month, the proposal said.
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We expect more than fifteen thousand stops to result in two thousand acre feet of direct savings and will increase total savings to five thousand to ten thousand acre feet when
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paired with the communications outreach, education and efficiency programs, the memo said.
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The vote comes as Denver Water staff is pointing to the success of stepped up enforcement at the end of this summer's watering season, which concluded September 30th.
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The board had previously put a hard stop on all lawn irrigation starting October 1st.
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After years of making the cutoff merely a recommendation for customers.
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After a summer of two-day-a-week watering limitations, any lawn watering at all starting October 1st could result in warnings and fines.
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Denver Water requires the same restrictions in the suburban areas it serves.
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After issuing only 110 fines through late September, Denver Water used the rule change on October 1st to boost the amount of fines and speed up enforcement.
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Fines for any lawn watering became $500 for the first violation by residential customers and $1,000 for additional violations.
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Every customer got a preemptive postcard as their warning.
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Meaning the first observed violation brought a fine.
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From October 1st through October 18th, under the post-October 1st violation structure, we issued 448 fines, totaling $265,000, a Denver water spokesperson said.
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Neither the additional fines nor the early 2026 increase in water rates brings additional revenue into the utility.
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Customer use cutbacks actually cost Denver water.
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About $4 million in revenue over the summer, despite the drought surcharges, with the drop constituting about 1% of the usual revenue over that time.
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The October 1st law and cutoff helped Denver Water make better progress toward the overall 20% cut in the use targeted for 2026.
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Customers at first reacted poorly to the two-day-a-week restrictions and 20% target.
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Saving at a rate of only 2% of expected use early in the watering season.
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That number improved each month.
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By September 30th, Denver water's demand was down 9% from the five-year average.
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The October 1st lawn shutdown was further boosted that savings to 11% from the five-year average and saved another 3,700 acre feet of water.
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An acre foot can serve the indoor and outdoor needs of two to four average households for a year.
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The suburban customers Denver Water delivers to pay more than city customers, dictated by a 1950s charter change.
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Early in this year's drought restrictions, a Denver Water spokesperson said, quote, we want to emphasize we really need more from our suburban customers with larger yards right
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now.
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Denver Waters said this fall that over a five-year average, its City of Denver customers are using an average of 87,000 gallons of water a year.
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While the agency's suburban customers are using a hundred and twenty seven thousand gallons a year.
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Answers to your questions about amendment eighty seven, Colorado's graduated income tax ballot measure.
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This is reported by Brian Eason.
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Confused about Amendment 87?
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You're not alone.
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We've gotten a lot of questions from readers about the ballot measure which would swap out Colorado's flat income tax for a graduated system that charges higher rates the more money
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someone makes.
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Here are the answers to questions we heard most often in reader emails.
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First,
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Why does the state blue book seem to contradict the Amendment 87 income tax table on the ballot?
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The Blue Book table shows that the taxes would go up for Coloradans earning an annual income of $500,000 or more.
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The ballot table shows the average person making $500,000 to $1 million a year would actually pay $325 less in state taxes if the measure passes.
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Both are technically correct, according to nonpartisan legislative staff.
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Here's where the confusion comes from.
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The chart on the left, found on the state's nonpartisan voter guide, known as the Blue Book, looks at state taxable income.
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That's what will get taxed at the new rates imposed by Amendment 87, which are shown here.
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And the tax brackets under Amendment 87, if approved by voters.
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Amendment eighty seven would replace the state's
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Um flat income tax rate with the graduated system.
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And it shows that the tax bracket of 500,001 to 750,000 would pay as 7.4% tax.
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$750,001 to $1 million would pay 7.9% tax.
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And more than $1 million would pay 8.4% tax.
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The second chart found on your ballot shows Amendment 87's average effect broken down by adjusted gross income, basically all of someone's earning minus things like retirement
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savings and student loan payments that aren't taxed by the federal government.
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And the average person who makes $500,000 to $1 million of adjusted gross income actually makes a little less than $500,000.
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In Colorado taxable income, meaning they would get a tax cut under Amendment 87.
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Why the big disparity?
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The main reason is that many of the state's highest earners only live here part-time, so only some of their income is subject to Colorado taxes.
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There are also state deductions and exemptions that can reduce people's taxable income, like subtractions for Social Security benefits, charitable contributions, and college
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savings accounts.
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So, why does the ballot even have such a confusing chart?
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State law requires it.
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In 2021, the legislature passed a bill requiring voters to be told how tax changes would affect people at different income levels.
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But the income groupings required by the law are based on the federal adjusted gross income, not state taxable income.
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For most Coloradans, these numbers are going to be very similar.
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Lawmakers just didn't anticipate this particular scenario when they passed that bill.
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How would Amendment 87 affect tax exemptions for Social Security and military veterans?
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It wouldn't.
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Opponents of the measure, including Advanced Colorado, a conservative political group, and Democratic Governor Jared Polis, have incorrectly said American Amendment 87 would
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eliminate those tax breaks, but that claim is simply not true.
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The origin of it is a misleading interpretation.
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of how Amendment 87 would edit one sentence in the state constitution.
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Today that sentence reads, quote, any income tax law change after July 1st, 1992, shall also require all taxable net income to be taxed at one rate, excluding refund tax credits
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or voter approved tax credits, with no added tax or surcharge.
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In order to implement the graduated income tax, Amendment 87 deletes
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At one rate.
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It also deletes the dependent clause that follows it, quote, excluding refund tax credits or voter-approved tax credits.
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That's because grammatically the clause is no longer needed.
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If Amendment 87 passes, here's the full sentence that would be left in the Constitution.
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Any income tax law change after July 1, 1992, shall also require all taxable net income to be taxed.
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With no added tax or surcharge.
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Opponents have argued this change would prohibit seniors from claiming existing tax breaks on Social Security and military retirement benefits.
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But that's not true.
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In reality, the change simply eliminates the requirement that all income be taxed at one rate.
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And without that requirement, the Constitution no longer needs an exception for tax credits.
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In a statement to Nine News, Polis maintained it was still possible that Amendment 87 could affect Social Security tax break, depending on how courts interpret the language.
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Quote, what I should have said is that it could, depending on the court's interpretation, he told Nine News.
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I will be more careful in the future about identifying this as a risk, not as a certainty.
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There's another reason the claim doesn't hold up scrutiny.
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Under the taxpayer's Bill of Rights, voters have to be told
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When a ballot measure would increase their taxes.
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But the ballot language and state voters guide don't mention any effect on senior tax breaks.
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Getting rid of the tax exemptions on retirement benefits would raise at least six hundred million dollars more than the state legislative analysts are expecting, em based on the
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most recent state tax expenditure report.
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Well what are the proposed tax brackets for joint filers under Amendment 87?
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em The measure would not create separate tax brackets for single and joint filers, so the brackets would be the same for individuals and married couples.
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As a result, under Amendment 87, some dual income households could face higher state taxes if they filed jointly rather than individually.
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That is a key difference from the Federal Incomes Tax Code.
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as well as many other states with progressive tax codes, which allow couples to make more money than individuals within the same bracket.
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The idea is to avoid bumping a couple into a higher tax bracket when they combine their incomes.
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But in graduated income tax systems, there's no way to eliminate marriage penalties or marriage bonuses entirely.
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Currently, Colorado charges the same plaque tax for everyone, 4.4%
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So there's no reason to have separate brackets for individual and joint filers.
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Will the tax brackets under Amendment 87 adjust for inflation over time?
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No.
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As a result, the share of households paying higher taxes under Amendment 87 would increase over time.
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The value of the measure's tax cuts would also shrink over the years if the legislature doesn't make adjustments.
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As a result,
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A household making $450,000 a year in today's dollars would be moved into a higher tax bracket within eight years if their earnings increased by 3% annually.
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However, it would take several decades for most taxpayers to reach the $500,000 threshold where the higher tax brackets kick in.
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Someone making a $100,000 salary today would not move into the higher tax bracket for more than 50 years at a 3% annual inflation.
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Rescues and Devastation What it looked like when southwestern Colorado began flooding.
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This is reported by Shannon Mullane and Olivia Prentzel.
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And there is a horrifying picture right here.
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Structures partly submerged in the Rio Grande at the Fun Valley Family Resort on October 27, that is yesterday, in South Fork.
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The resort sustains significant damage from flooding caused by recent heavy rains.
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It shows a house kind of leaning against another.
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oh
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With water is surging around it, it looks like the house has been washed off its foundation.
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It's ca also forced evacuations and damaged roads and homes.
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That picture is by Chenny Orr.
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Severe flooding across southwestern Colorado has stranded residents, swept away roads, and forced emergency crews into round-the-clock rescue missions as communities begin
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confronting damage that could take months to repair.
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Behind the widespread destruction are stories of narrow escapes, neighbors helping neighbors.
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And residents grappling with what the floodwaters left behind.
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Here are three of their stories.
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Inside the Colorado National Guard's aerial mission to rescue 28 people, nine dogs, and two cats.
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Colorado Air Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officer II Joshua Holm rarely gets to learn what happens to the people he rescues from disasters.
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After spotting stranded residents from the air, helping guide a helicopter into position and hoisting them to safety.
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He typically hands them off to emergency responders and never sees them again.
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But after helping rescue a family stranded on a backcountry road cut off by severe flooding near Pagosa Springs, Holm had an unexpected reunion.
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Later that day, while shopping for groceries in town, he ran into the very family his crew had brought to safety.
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Quote, so when that happens, that's pretty rewarding because it's unique, Holm, who was deployed from the Denver area, told the Colorado Sun that
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after five days on the mission.
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It's part of the job for members of the Colorado National Guard who are called into communities facing disasters to provide life-saving support, then pack up and leave once
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their work is done.
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As of Tuesday morning, the Colorado National Guard's aviation crews have rescued 28 people, 9 dogs and 2 cats, during 14 missions across southwestern Colorado, where severe
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flooding was what has washed out roads, damaged homes, and left some residents without water.
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And essential supplies.
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Holmes said he and his crew spent two 23.3 hours in the air.
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Several Pagosa-based National Guard crews have been working around the clock alongside the Archuletta County Sheriff's Office to reach people, both on the ground and from the air.
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Using two military helicopters, crews first surveyed the region to assess the damage and identify where help was needed.
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Then they flew lower over roads and neighborhoods searching for stranded residents waving their arms to signal for help.
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One of the helicopters, which the Colorado National Guard has used for search and rescue operations since 2021, can maneuver into tight spaces that ground vehicles and larger
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helicopters cannot reach, Holmes said.
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It can also hoist people as high as two hundred and seventy five feet off the ground, carry multiple patients, and provide pilots.
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With a broad view of the terrain below.
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The Colorado National Guard received orders to activate at 9 p.m.
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Friday.
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After a late night of packing, a task force assembled and arrived in Picosa Springs Saturday morning.
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Holm, who joined the National Guard at seventeen, transferred to the Colorado National Guard in twenty seventeen and joined the Army's high altitude aviation training site near
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Eagle.
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He later attended flight school and now serves as a pilot and works in aircraft maintenance.
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This is very, very fulfilling for me to be able to use a skill set I've always desired to develop, and I can return those skills back to the community by utilizing these
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helicopters to do exactly what they're designed to do, he said.
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With a bird's eye view, Holm could see the extent of the destruction left by the flooding.
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Quote, it looks like a long term impact just from the level of devastation I was seeing from the air, he said.
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But he also witnessed neighbors helping one another.
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During one of his first missions near Pagosa Springs, Holm watched as a woman helped her older neighbor make her way across muddy waterlogged ground to reach a helicopter waiting
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to carry her to safety.
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For Holm,
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That spirit of neighbors helping neighbors is at the heart of the National Guard's mission.
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Quote As Colorado Guardsmen, at the end of the day, we are your neighbors too, he said.
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This is why we train to do every day, and I know each and every one of my brothers and sisters in arms are happy to use our skill sets to help the very people we live next to.
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Our next uh section a beloved RV Campground Now submerged.
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Kathy and Mike Smith were at home in Texas watching security footage as the Rio Grande rose higher and higher as it raced through the Fun Valley Family Resort, a property in
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South Fork they've managed for six years.
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When the river that draws people to spend summer days pulled up to its banks, surged into a threatening torrent, they race back to Colorado.
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Once they arrived at the two hundred and fifty acre property, they realized how much destruction the rain swollen river had done.
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Quote, the first thing we saw were the trailers barely hanging on on the edge of the water, Kathy Smith said.
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She cried as she survived the flooded campground roads.
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Six red roofed loft cabins had floated into the river.
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Two trailers had fallen into the water, and hundreds of RV sites were submerged.
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A bridge had washed away.
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and debris continued to rush downstream.
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Quote, they're still underwater.
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This water is still very angry, very high, Kathy Smith said Tuesday morning.
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It's an unreal sight to see.
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We just can't comprehend what we're seeing.
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Much of the damage remains unknown because parts of the campground, located just south of US one hundred sixty, are still inaccessible.
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Bloodwaters continue to pound against an activity center near the broken levee.
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The resort closed for the season on Labor Day, so when the flooding began no guests or staff were there.
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Except for a sole contractor who tried to cut down trees to protect the resort's bridges.
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He retreated as the water rose.
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The Rio Grande winds through the campground, which has welcomed visitors since nineteen fifty nine.
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With sixteen stocked fishing ponds and the river running through its grounds, Fun Valley has long been more than a place to park an RV, Mike Smith said.
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For generations of families it's been a place to return to year after year, where children grow up and memories are made.
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Quote, the kids will learn how to ride their bike for the first time here.
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They catch their very first fish here, Kathy Smith said.
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We even have adults catch their very first fish here at Fun Valley.
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It's more than just an RV park, you know, it's a home.
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Average summer flows on the rivers through the campground are between three hundred and four hundred cubic feet per second, but in the latest storms flows topped seven thousand
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cubic feet per second, and the river rose more than nine feet, Mike Smith said.
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It was far worse than flooding last October when the river flowed at thirty three hundred cubic feet per second.
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The Smiths hoped to reopen the campground by Memorial Day when the season typically begins.
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Quote It's just going to be a lot of work between here and there, but Fun Valley is part of a soul of a lot of people.
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It's in their heart, Kathy Smith said.
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And the last uh s story, all the miracles in life.
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Hank and Stacy Willis knew the flood was coming.
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They saw the warnings of heavy rain for Archuletta County, but online updates seemed to indicate it would be less severe than a similar flood in twenty twenty five, the couple
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told reporters Monday night during a media briefing hosted by the county.
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Quote, We thought we made it through last year, Hank Willis said.
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We'll add some sandbags and we should be okay this year.
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The couple woke up at four AM Thursday to bile sandbags and place tarps at their home next to the Rio Blanco River south of Pagosa Springs.
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They sent their pet rabbits home with Hank Willis's parents.
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A sheriff's deputy showed up Thursday to tell them there was a mandatory evacuation order for the Rio Blanco and they needed to evacuate.
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But they were in a hurry, and Hank didn't ask when the peak would hit.
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That evening the water started to spill over the sandbag wall.
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They were monitoring the water levels at the diversion dam upstream and knew they'd have about five hours to leave once they saw a peak at the upstream gauge.
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And then it just started getting worse in a hurry, Frank Hank Willis said.
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I think it was heavier rain between us and that flow gauge.
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Obviously that hit us quicker than we thought it should.
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They loaded belongings into their RV and headed out.
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His mother's car nearly washed off the road.
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As the Willises tried to cross a watery section of road, the engine stalled.
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Water was in the intake and it wouldn't start again.
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It was dark, about ten thirty PM and they were stuck looking at the amount of water between their RV and dry ground.
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Hank Willis's parents went back to their house and called a tow truck.
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The trucking company said they'd be there in forty five minutes.
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Quote, the water was still below the headlights on our vehicle, Stacy Willis said.
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They decided to wait, but the tow truck never showed.
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It couldn't cross a bridge that was closed.
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Deputy Craig said
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Tamborelli with the Archoleta County Sheriff's Office arrived after two fifteen AM Friday.
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Rapid white water was flowing over the hood and windshield of the RV, which was twenty feet or more from dry ground, he said.
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He called search and rescue and yelled instructions to the couple across the rushing water.
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Tamborelli threw a rope to the vehicle so the couple could anchor it to something secure on the RV.
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Only the vehicle didn't have good anchor points.
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The couple secured it to a table.
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The best option at the time.
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Search and rescue teams were about five minutes away.
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Tamborelli got out a chainsaw to cut a trail along the side of the mountain to open up easier access to the vehicle.
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Water was rising inside the RV.
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Quote, I had limited tools and resources at that time, Tamborelli said.
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I couldn't do nothing.
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By that time the water had star undercutting the RV and was starting to tip it into the river.
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Hank Willis was holding the rope to make sure it was secure, then in the blink of the eye, the RV turned a hard left and remained upright as it was swept downstream.
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The tension ripped the table leg off the table, and the leg hit both Willis's as it was pulled out the window.
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Tamborelli went to the intersection after intersection to try to intercept the RV, but East was washed out.
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Hank Willis was watching the shore as the water carried them downstream while his wife tried to gather the dogs and keep them calm.
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Quote, I just kept praying, you know, Heavenly Father, please let us catch something, land us somewhere, he said, recalling more and more water flowing into the RV.
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Something in the river caught, and ripped an axle off the motor home.
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The RV tilted onto its side, lurched into the main channel, and slid across the ground.
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They could hear the rock scraping the side of the vehicle.
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Quote, we smashed into of all places our own fence about seventy five yards from our own house, Hag Willis said.
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A cabinet and sink was their largest dry area, but it broke, so they used the remaining table as a platform.
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Stacy Willis said her bag of clothes had stayed dry, so they were able to change clothes to stay warmer and drier in the chilly water.
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Quote, We just tried to make ourselves cozy for a little while, Stacy Willis said.
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Eventually Tamborelli stopped in the middle of US eighty four and saw the couple flashing an SOS signal.
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He called in a swift water rescue team to try to get to the RV, which by then was in the middle of the river channel, but there was no safe point to access the vehicle from either
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side.
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By this point it was 5 AM.
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By 6 AM, Stanley Okazi Ozaki, Archilletta's County Deputy of Emergency Operations, was on duty.
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He brought in a drone equipped with thermal imaging, a microphone, and other equipment that provided a way to communicate with the couple and fly a rope line to the RV.
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To serve as a high line to transport personnel or food and supplies.
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The Willises said they were okay, so the rescue teams decided to hold off for a safer opportunity to help the couple.
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They turned to the National Guard.
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Three hours later, a Blackhawk helicopter arrived and hoisted each person and pet out of the RV.
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About forty-five minutes later, the couple and their five pets were back on dry ground.
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Hank and Stacy were able to thank the responders during a media briefing Monday night.
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Quote, it's pretty incredible for all you do and all you risk, Stacy Willis said.
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You guys deserve a lot more credit than you ever get.
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The couple's message to others?
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Know what you can take with you and what you can't.
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Have go bags prepared ahead of time, and when the responders say go, it's time to leave.
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Quote, all the miracles in life.
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I don't know what more to say, Stacy Willis said.
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Their recovery process is just beginning.
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The couple is staying with family for the time being.
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They've been able to make it back to their own home, and luckily the water didn't make it into the house itself.
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Their outbuildings were pummeled by water, mud, and debris, so they've got cleaning to do as they hope the next storm won't be as bad, Hankwill has said.
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Quote, mostly it's just making it through.
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And there's a picture here of a collapsed section of Colorado 151 between Pagosa Springs and Ignacio.
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There's a picture here, a pretty uh terrifying one of the Colorado National Guard officers inside a Black Hawk colour hoisting Hank and Stacy Willis from their RV uh that became
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stranded near Pagosa Springs.
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And that is a video.
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And there's remnants of a bridge over the Rio Grande.
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Well there are not many remnants left of that bridge off of 160 remain after floodwaters washed it away.
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And there's a picture here of the um parking area for trailers and RVs at Fun Valley Resort, uh filled with mud and water.
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And there's a picture of a trailer tilted into the mud at the Fun Valley family resort.
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And a picture of the cabins all tilted into the river.
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And a picture here of the collapse section of Colorado 151.
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This was taken yesterday between Gosa Springs and Ignacio.
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And it looks like there's a whole section of the road that's just collapsed, and another section where there's a huge amount of mud and debris washed across the road.
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So pretty awful things down there in southern Colorado.
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We wish all of them, all of the people there the best and thank the emergency responders.
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Well that's all the news for today.
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This is the Colorado Sun for Wednesday, October twenty eighth.
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My name is Candace Einbeck.