Flooding, hailstones wreak havoc

Quay County's manager said he might request a state disaster declaration after flooding Thursday night and Friday damaged roads and destroyed a multimillion-dollar bridge days from its completion.

In Tucumcari, a severe hailstorm that night damaged innumerable vehicles and roofs, and the torrential rain that came with the storm caused widespread flooding. Several buildings closed at least temporarily due to large hailstones tearing through roofs, allowing rainwater to pour inside.

Sinkholes and standing water at Tucumcari Memorial Park cemetery prompted the cancellation of the annual Memorial Day ceremony there.

Quay County manager Daniel Zamora on Friday inspected damage to the new, $4 million low-water bridge over San Jon Creek on Old Route 66 between San Jon and Endee. He said flash flooding not only destroyed the new bridge, but it damaged the 1931 bridge, labeled as Bridge 1625, that soon was scheduled to be closed to traffic.

Zamora provided the Quay County Sun a short video of water gushing through a large breach in the low-water bridge.

Nearby San Jon reportedly received seven inches of rain overnight from several storms that rumbled through the region.

Zamora said he decided to close Old Route 66 indefinitely between San Jon and Glenrio because of other damage to the road and his lack of confidence in the older bridge's condition.

"We don't feel safe about it," Zamora said of the old bridge on Saturday. "It's amazing how much water was there."

He said the new bridge's contractor, Vital Consulting Group of Albuquerque, is bonded and insured, and it would file a claim on the damage.

Zamora said he didn't know how long it would take to repair or replace the bridge.

He described the situation as "a major setback," noting it had taken previous county manager Richard Primrose and road superintendent Larry Moore years of effort to acquire state funding for the project.

Zamora said Saturday he knew of at least three other county roads "wrecked" by flooding, especially those near arroyos. He said road crews were prioritizing repairs for nearby residents with medical conditions who need to regularly leave their homes for treatment.

On Monday, Zamora said he'd received more reports of county roads damaged by floods.

"There are damaged roads all over the place," he said.

Zamora said he "wasn't ruling out" the possibility he would ask the county commission during its next meeting on June 5 to approve a resolution that would request a state disaster declaration. He said the resolution, if passed, would send the request to the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. If the request is approved, it would make it eligible for assistance in covering costs from the storms.

The storm Thursday night produced hail as large as baseballs in a few spots in Tucumcari, according to the National Weather Service, with many reporting golfball-size hail.

The slow-moving storm also was unusual in that hail fell for as long as 30 minutes in some areas, turning the ground as white as snow. Hailstones piled up in drifts on the edge of streets and flooded areas.

"There's all sorts of property damage all over the place," Tucumcari Police Chief Patti Lopez said.

Hail also damaged neon tubing on historic signs along the city's fabled Route 66 corridor.

Heavy rain accompanied the storm, dumping four to five inches in Tucumcari and causing standing water as deep as 18 inches in some areas, Lopez reported.

Several residents found their parked vehicles unexpectedly stranded in floodwaters on Friday morning, she said.

Debris caused by the hail littered the center of streets after water pooled on both sides.

The destructive storm arrived hours after power was restored to the city following a 19-hour outage. A storm Wednesday night knocked out a main power line from Clovis, forcing Xcel Energy to fire up a backup generator on the Tucumcari's north side. (See other story in this edition.)

C.J. Wiegel, owner of Tucumcari General Insurance Agency, declared Thursday night's event "the worst storm in Tucumcari since I have been in the insurance business for 44 years."

Wiegel added he recalled golfball-size hail "over most of the town" on Memorial Day weekend in 1986.

"My daughter, who is a civil engineer in surface water, said she researched the heavy rains in the far SE portion of the county, and the 8-9 inches of rains in 48 hours qualifies as a one in a 1,000-year rain event," he wrote in an email. "The four inches in a few hours could qualify as a one in 50 to 100-year event."

Tucumcari city manager Paula Chacon said Friday said some water infiltrated City Hall, Tucumcari Senior Center, Tucumcari Police Department, Tucumcari Recreation Center and the KTNM/KQAY radio station.

She said hail and rainwater also damaged the Tucumcari Convention Center, Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce, Tucumcari Municipal Golf Course, Five Mile Park and several buildings downtown.

City Commissioner Paul Villanueva and convention center manager Loy McSpadden inspected four skylights, broken by hailstones, that allowed rainwater to pour into the building. Water as deep as 2 inches pooled in several places in hallways, and saturated ceiling tiles dropped onto the floor. Rainwater also damaged the Sheetrock in several walls.

The convention center, along with its New Mexico Route 66 Museum in one wing, will remain closed as cleanup and repairs commence.

Hailstones broke through the roof at the recently renovated chamber of commerce building, causing ceiling tiles and water to drop onto director Scott Crotzer's office, a conference room and the Film Tucumcari office. Floodwaters also seeped through a back door. The chamber building also is closed indefinitely.

Former chamber director Gail Sanders on Friday helped Crotzer pick up damaged ceiling tiles and water-ruined other items and toss them in a nearby Dumpster.

"It's just sad," she said of the damage.

Anticipating more heavy rain Friday night, Tucumcari MainStreet offered material for sandbags so businesses could halt more flooding events. However, only light or moderate rain fell during the weekend.

The torrential rains Thursday night and Friday also caused the cancellation of Monday morning's Memorial Day ceremony at Tucumcari Memorial Park cemetery.

Members of VFW Post 2528 and volunteers were scheduled to place U.S. flags on veterans' graves Friday morning, but sinkholes and standing water prompted them to call it off.

Chacon said the Monday ceremony by the VFW was canceled due to "safety issues" from the sinkholes and saturated ground.

The city parked a truck, blocking the main entrance to the closed cemetery. Repairs to the cemetery were scheduled to begin this week.

A sign of how much water fell over the region could be found at Conchas Lake. According to data from the U.S. Geological Survey, the lake's level rose more than 7 feet less than three days after the the storm.