San Juan County told Bluff residents south of Highway 191/Main Street to leave immediately on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. after saying floodwaters were reaching the town and conditions were changing rapidly. People were told to head north toward Blanding and not to cross flooded roads or drive through floodwater.
The evacuation widened an emergency that had already been unfolding across the San Juan River corridor. The Navajo Nation Department of Emergency Management had issued evacuation notices for Montezuma Creek and Aneth at 11:15 p.m. Saturday as river levels rose, and about 150 people from those communities were forced out overnight into Sunday. Two shelters were opened, one at Aneth Community School in Montezuma Creek and another at San Juan High School in Blanding.
By Sunday, Buu Nygren said severe flooding was still threatening Aneth and Montezuma Creek, while a National Weather Service alert identified Mexican Hat, Tselakai Dezza, Bluff, Halchita, Montezuma Creek and Aneth as communities facing major flooding into Monday. Another round of rain could make the situation worse, especially where roads are already underwater or washed out.
That is what makes the evacuation so hard to manage. Chantal Wadsworth said many roads on the Navajo Nation are dirt roads and floodwater has turned them into streams, making it difficult for residents to drive out to safety. She said people needing help should contact their local chapter houses and representatives to report stranded family members, a reminder that opening shelters does not solve the larger problem of getting everyone there.
Nygren said the response will last well beyond the immediate flood threat. He said Navajo Nation has to respond to the devastation it is feeling and that work will continue for the next several weeks. For Bluff and the nearby communities now under evacuation orders, the next question is not when the rain stops, but when roads are safe enough for people to go home.
