Celebrate the rain, but be mindful
Belen ditch overflows, creating widespread flooding
Rain has hit and more is on the way.
Celebrate.
But also watch out. Rescue crews and police were working late into Thursday night in Belen after a ditch overf lowed from torrential rain, causing widespread flooding.
Valencia County Dispatch said no injuries, stranded vehicles, evacuations or displaced residents were reported.
Officials said torrential rain caused a breach in a ditch, near Mesa and Hansen, which led to much of the flooding.
Crews used a dump truck to fill the breach and expected to have it plugged by early this morning.
Although no residents were displaced, the Red Cross set up
a shelter at Jaramillo Elementary School as a precaution.
Rio Rancho also saw heavy rains which led to one stranded motorist who drove around road crews and stalled their vehicle in the underpass of Paseo Del Vulcan, which was flooded. Both the driver and car were recovered safely.
As more rain is expected, another thing to watch for is mudslides — especially in areas around current wildfires or wildfires from recent years.
Around those areas, the amount of rain anticipated to fall is expected to wash down with force dragging along debris.
National Weather Service meteorologist Kerry Jones’ weather update Thursday included “high-extreme burn scar flash flood potential.”
He mentioned the Morris Creek Fire in Colfax County and the Sardinas Canyon Fire in the Carson National Forest south of Taos, which are both still being fought.
And there is expected to be more than a little bit of rain under the conditions that are brewing.
In a weather hotline update, Jones called the setup “pretty juicy” for delivering near-daily rainfall in most of the state with a “focus across northern and western New Mexico, especially the mountains and adjacent valleys to include the Rio Grande Valley.”
Monsoon storms usually travel to the east and northeast, but this setup looks to be sending the storms to the west, northwest and southwest.