Stars and Bars RestorationWe don't like leading a blog post with bad news, but this one matters too much to bury. On Sunday, Aug. 16, about an inch and a half of rain fell over the Beulah area in roughly 90 minutes. The National Weather Service had a flood watch out. The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office had already been warning residents for weeks that the ground scorched by the Aspen Acres fire can't absorb rain the way it used to. And despite all of that, an 80-year-old man was swept away by fast-moving floodwater and did not survive.
Our thoughts are with his family and with everyone in the Beulah Valley who is dealing with yet another round of flooding, closed roads, and fear every time the sky turns dark. We've written before about the cleanup side of burn-scar flooding — what to do after water gets into your Beulah or San Isabel home — but this post is about something more urgent than cleanup: staying alive when the water starts moving.
Why This Keeps Happening — and Why It's Getting Worse, Not Better
Burn scars don't heal in a season. The Aspen Acres fire stripped the hillsides above Beulah of the vegetation and root systems that used to slow rainfall down and let it soak into the ground. What's left behind is bare, hydrophobic soil — it actually repels water instead of absorbing it. An amount of rain that would have been a non-event two years ago now turns into a wall of water and debris moving downhill in minutes, not hours.
This is the second serious flood event tied to this burn scar in about three weeks, and NWS meteorologists have said publicly that burn scars stay unstable and flood-prone for two to five years after a major fire. That means Beulah, San Isabel, and the Aspen Acres area should expect this risk every time a storm rolls through for at least the next couple of monsoon seasons — not just this one.
Flash Flood Safety Rules That Actually Save Lives
Restoration is our job, but we'd rather you never need us because of a life-threatening flood. These are the rules that matter most, straight from what emergency responders keep repeating after every one of these events:
1. Never drive or walk through moving water
This is the single most common way people die in flash floods, and it's exactly what happened in Beulah. It doesn't take much — six inches of fast-moving water can knock an adult off their feet, and about a foot can float a car. If a road is flooded or barricaded, turn around. It is never worth the shortcut.
2. Know before the storm arrives, not after
Sign up for Pueblo County's emergency alert system and pay attention to any flash flood watch or warning for your area — especially if you live downhill from a burn scar. A "watch" means conditions are favorable for flooding; a "warning" means it's happening or about to happen and you need to act, not wait and see.
3. Have an evacuation plan for your specific property
If you live in the Beulah Valley, San Isabel, or anywhere downhill from the Aspen Acres or Junkins burn scars, know your evacuation route before you need it — not while water is already crossing the road. Talk with your household about where you'll go and how you'll get there if State Highway 78 or your access road floods.
4. Move vehicles and valuables to higher ground early
If a flash flood watch is issued for your area, don't wait for the warning to move cars off low ground and bring in anything you can't afford to lose. You may only get minutes of real warning once water starts moving.
5. Check on neighbors, especially older residents living alone
The man who died Sunday was 80 years old. Older neighbors living alone are often the most at risk during fast-developing floods because they may not get alerts as quickly or may have more trouble moving fast. A phone call or a knock on the door during a flood watch can genuinely save a life.
What to Do If Your Home Takes on Water
If your house does get hit by floodwater, safety still comes first — don't go back into a flooded structure until it's been checked for structural damage, and never touch electrical systems in standing water. Once it's safe, here's the short version of what matters:
- Document everything with photos before you move or discard anything, for your insurance claim
- Call your insurance company as soon as possible to start the claim
- Get water out fast — flood water in Southern Colorado often carries mud, debris, and contamination from septic systems or agricultural runoff, so this isn't a job for a shop vac and a fan alone in most cases
- Watch for mold — in our climate, mold can start growing within 24-48 hours in wet drywall and insulation
We go into more detail on the cleanup process in our Beulah and San Isabel flash flood cleanup guide, and on burn-scar flooding generally in our post-wildfire flash flooding article.
We're Here, Day or Night
Stars and Bars Restoration is based in Colorado City, close enough to Beulah and the Aspen Acres burn scar to respond fast when water damage hits. We're IICRC certified and veteran-owned, and we've been out to more flooded homes in this valley over the past month than we'd like to admit. If your home has taken on water, or you just want to talk through what to have ready before the next storm, call us anytime at (719) 676-2456. We answer 24/7, and there's no charge just to ask questions.
Stay safe out there, watch the sky, and please — if you see water moving across a road, turn around. Call Stars and Bars Restoration at (719) 676-2456 for water damage cleanup, and check the National Weather Service and Pueblo County Sheriff's Office for the latest flood watches and warnings in your area.
Stars and Bars Restoration | IICRC Certified | Veteran-Owned | Colorado City, CO | Serving all of Southern Colorado