Massive Mudslide Washes Cars Away in Colorado

Manitou Springs, Colo.

A bulldozer works to clear mud from Hwy. 24 after a mudslide closed the road just west of Manitou Springs, Colo., Wednesday, July 10, 2013. A storm sent rocks, mud, debris and water rushing down part of U.S. 24 in a canyon in Manitou Springs, leaving some vehicles covered or stuck in mud.      (AP Photo/The Gazette, Jerilee Bennett)

SOURCE  11 July, 2013

MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo.  — A thunderstorm has sent rocks, mud, debris and running water rushing down part of U.S. 24 in a canyon in Manitou Springs, leaving some vehicles covered or stuck in mud.

The rockslide closed a four-mile stretch of U.S. 24 Wednesday afternoon. El Paso County sheriff’s officials said there was no immediate report of injuries.

The American Red Cross opened a shelter for people seeking higher ground.

The National Weather Service had issued flash flood warnings Wednesday afternoon for areas scarred by the Waldo Canyon Fire last year and the Black Forest Fire this year, since soil and vegetation that normally would absorb rainfall there has been burned away.