Highway 24 was closed twice Tuesday night after severe storms dumped heavy rains on the Waldo Canyon Fire burn scar.
/ FOX21: Mike Duran
EL PASO COUNTY, COLO. -- Severe storms moved through southern Colorado Tuesday night, hitting the Waldo Canyon Fire burn scar hard.
The storms caused flash flooding, mudslides, rock slides and road closures.
Highway 24 was closed twice because of slides.
"The closure for Highway 24 kind of evolved over time," Lt. Jeff Kramer, Public Information Officer for the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, said. "We were able to open up a portion of that during one segment but then had to re-close it because we had slides in different areas."
Linda Snow lives in Green Mountain Falls and returned home to a basement full of mud.
"I could see from 24 that the house was under mud," she said.
She and her husband moved to the area recently, and she said it's been nothing but an adventure.
"We've been in this house for three months, and we've already gone through fire evacuations and now sandbagging," Snow said.
She said the storm left four inches of mud throughout their basement apartment.
"I didn't know mud could travel, especially as thick as this stuff is. It came through the sinks, the toilets, the bathtub, and it's really disgusting, and it smells awful," Snow said.
Outside debris covered the yard, and Snow said they are still missing one of their trailers.
"We can't find it. We've been up and down the creek, Fountain Creek, for a couple hours this morning, couldn't find it," she said.
"Being our age it's the adventure of a lifetime," she said laughing. "I can say now I've lived through hurricanes, forest fires, and everything else in between. I always said I wanted to live a full rich life, so I guess I'm getting my wish I just didn't want it full of mud."
With more rain in the forecast and the continued threat of flooding because of the Waldo Canyon Fire the El Paso County Sheriff's Office is encouraging everyone to stay alert.
"As you know storms in this area can produce very quickly and produce rain at a very fast rate, so people can be caught by surprise," Kramer said. "You can come around the corner and find that the road has been either washed out or that a significant amount of mud and debris has flown across the road sometimes even aggressive enough to carry or move a car."
Kramer said people should check local forecasts and seek higher ground if flooding occurs.
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