Mudslides block road, trap visitors at Colorado national park

Several mudslides slid from a wildfire burn scar Thursday, blocking the only road out and trapping visitors at the bottom of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park for six hours. 

A thunderstorm dumped over an inch of rain in an hour late Thursday afternoon in the Gunnison area. 

"It was pouring," Pam Meineke told CBS Colorado. "The rain was coming down so hard, the river looked like it was boiling."  

Meineke and her friends, hoping to drop their fishing lines into the Gunnison River, planned to ride the storm out. They sat on picnic tables under a campground shelter and watched waterfalls form on the canyon walls. 

Their plans changed as that falling water turned into mud and rock. 

"It had to be (from a burn scar) because of the way the mud came down," Meineke said. "We were down by the visitors center. It came down both sides. It was dark. Nothing comes down like that."  

The blackened mud contained material from the top of the canyon where lightning strikes ignited wildfires on both sides of the canyon on July 18 last year - almost a year ago to the day. Then, visitors and park staff were evacuated and the park was immediately closed.

The fire on the north side of the canyon was relatively short-lived. But the South Rim Fire scorched more than 4,000 acres and destroyed or heavily damaged several buildings belonging to the park service. That part of the park was closed for six weeks. 

Aside from human-made structures, wildfires of course also damage or destroy trees and vegetation. That creates another hazard when storms roll in. A sudden downpour will often cause steep burn scars to shed the surface layers of dirt once held in place by the roots of those plants. 

Meineke guessed five or six separate mudslides occurred Thursday. 

"I wasn't that scared. Everyone was fine. We were safe in our cars," Meineke said. Another group made a successful call for help, which was a concern for everyone at the bottom of the canyon, she said.   

Park staff was unable to reach heavy equipment needed to clear the road for two hours, Meineke added. But work progressed relatively quickly once that connection was made. 

"The crew that cleaned it up was amazing. Once these guys got on the equipment, they moved it so fast."  

A national park spokesperson reported three major mudslides, some as deep as six feet. Twenty one people were stuck. Most were out by midnight. A few waited until daylight Friday to exit the canyon. Part of the six-mile road has a steep grade of 16%. 

Work crews eventually cleared a path from the South Rim entrance to the East Portal Campground. Visitors were escorted out. Meineke said her group left the canyon at 10:45 p.m.

The campground and East Portal Road are closed until further notice, according to the park. Cost of repairs is not yet known.

Heavy rains also damaged rural roads in Garfield County the same evening.