Flood-damaged bridge cuts off South Fork community as officials race to rebuild before winter

A bridge damaged by days of flooding is leaving dozens of residents in South Fork's Beaver Creek community without a safe way to drive into town, as neighbors rely on one another while the community works to restore access before winter.

Tony Cooper, who lives in the community said the water under, over, and around the bridge was so strong it severely damaged homes along the river.

"This big log right here got jammed underneath the bridge, and when it got jammed, that's what compromised it," Cooper said.

After town officials said they felt the bridge move as they stood on it and deemed the bridge unsafe to drive on, residents were left walking across it to get groceries and other necessities. Cooper chatted with CBS Colorado as he waited for a neighbor to get a ride back home on the other side of the bridge.

"We're in a city that we don't have the 'Walmarts' and big stores and stuff like that," Cooper said. "So you ask people a lot, 'Hey, we're going to the city. Do you need something?'" 

The bridge was already under pressure after the first round of flooding this year. After a second round, and alongside the town's efforts to dig trenches for water around the bridge, it was still deemed too damaged for vehicles to cross.

"They can't drive and get to town. They have to come out and walk to the grocery store," said Linette Nye Schmidt, a public information officer with South Fork Fire Rescue of the residents of the estimated 30 homes in the Beaver Creek community, with some of them still vacant.

Reflecting on the storm and the resulting damage across the region, Nye Schmidt added, "We've never seen anything like this in our lifetime."

In the meantime, the town is working with the U.S. Forest Service and other property owners to turn a separate dirt trail into an access road. The goal is to give residents another way in and out of the community while officials assess the bridge.

"We don't have the timeline until we can get the resources in to check it and see what has to be done," she said. "And obviously, we're fighting with a lot of other people that need their bridges looked at."

If the bridge needs to be completely replaced, South Fork officials estimate the cost could reach $1 million, which officials say is about 40% of the small town's entire annual budget.

"It is a huge economic impact for a town to have to replace something like this," Nye Schmidt said. "It's a very small town, and they just don't have the budget for big replacements, especially unexpectedly like this."

That's why she says officials are hoping for federal aid to help cover the cost of repairs or replacement, as the bridge is just one part of the extensive flood damage across southwest Colorado, where homes, businesses and roads have been damaged or washed away.

For now, neighbors in Beaver Creek are relying on one another to get through the days ahead, as the town works to find a safe way to connect them back with the community.