Mexico continues to release its water

Rain and water releases from Mexico continue to swell the Rio Grande.

The river has overflowed its banks and levees and now stretches like a shallow lake a mile across Ojinaga and the low-lying areas of Presidio.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry issued a disaster declaration and requested a presidential disaster declaration for Presidio County in response to this flood threatening homes and lives.

“This situation poses an immediate danger to the residents of Presidio,” Perry said. “The state is working with local officials to provide the necessary personnel and equipment to protect life and property in the area.”

Officials said that Perry’s office and the International Boundary and Water Commission asked Mexican officials to slow the release of water from Luis Leon Reservoir, which empties into Rio Conchos, then into the Rio Grande.

Approximately 100 people have been evacuated from their homes in low-lying areas of Presidio. They now occupy a temporary shelter in an elementary school. An eyewitness estimated that 10 homes had been extensively flooded.

Four feet of floodwaters filled a flood plain next to Presidio High School nearly a mile away.

Presidio Schools Supt. Dennis McEntire said he believed the flooding posed no immediate danger but was ready to evacuate the students if the situation worsened.

The river has reached record levels and threatened to breach levees over a week ago.

A levee failed last Thursday, and floodwater poured into the city despite efforts to dam the water with sandbags.

A valiant effort to stem water at a makeshift dam along the railroad line failed last Thursday. A crew of 170 prisoners from Colorado City and Fort Stockton labored to build the dam before water could overtake them from the breached levee near Presidio’s 18-hole golf course.

CH-47 (Chinook) helicopters assisted in positioning the sandbags and supplying the effort.

Despite these efforts, waters later overtook the dam and flooded low-lying areas of Presidio.

This effort was a concrete example of how local, state and federal agencies have shown a desire to cooperate in relief efforts.

The Texas Department of Transportation provided equipment and personnel. The Texas Department of Corrections provided prisoner manpower, and the Georgia Army National Guard provided the helicopters, their pilots and maintenance men. Local law enforcement, Presidio High School students and citizens spent all day last Thursday filling sandbags at a makeshift sandlot.

“All of the agencies have cooperated wonderfully,” said Rod Ponton, Presidio County attorney. “It’s amazing how it’s brought people from different walks of life together.”

On the other side of the Rio Grande, in Ojinaga, the flooding is much worse than in Presidio.

Three levees were breached by floodwaters last Monday. Isaac Olivas, director of the Chihuahua Civil Protection Service, reported hundreds of homes flooded after the Rio Conchos rose to record heights. Floodwaters reached 13 feet in some parts of the city.

“It’s like a lake. It’s a big lake of stagnant water that stretches as far as you can see,” said Eli Sanchez, a Presidio resident with family in Ojinaga.

“The insects — mosquitoes and gnats — are getting really bad. I don’t see how they’re going to drain it.”

Sanchez said the most obvious economic effect of the flooding: Presidio caters to Mexican shoppers and the main street stores have been empty since the closing of the International Bridge.

“Between this and the property damage, things are pretty bad here,” he said.

Besides the international bridge at Presidio/Ojinaga, only one road was closed — FM 170 from Presidio to Lajitas — but cautionary signs were posted on highways leading to the Presidio area.

A Texas Department of Transportation spokeswoman said Friday that FM 170 was expected to stay closed for many days, perhaps a couple of weeks.

TxDOT crews from Alpine and Marfa have been working along the border, while the American Red Cross, Salvation Army and various state, local, county and federal agencies have sent teams in case they are needed.

An aerial survey midweek showed major rockslides on FM 170 while large portions of the highway remained under 8 to 10 feet of water.

Army helicopters

In Alpine, three big Boeing CH-47D helicopters — nicknamed Chinooks — landed and fueled Friday at Casparis Municipal Airport before leaving to assist flood-wracked Presidio.

There were 20 men — pilots, maintenance personnel and officers — from the Georgia Army National Guard who had just left Victoria on the Gulf Coast where they assisted Texans affected by Hurricane Ike. Their transport helicopters took water and “ready to eat meals” to coastal residents stuck in areas inaccessible to automobile.

The 20 Guardsmen, who are normally stationed in Savannah, Ga., are also assisting local, state and federal officials in fortifying Presidio levees against the advancing waters of the Rio Grande.

Large sandbags, weighing 3,000 to 5,000 pounds, were filled at a central location and then slingloaded by steel cable and transported to the breached levees by the helicopters.

This is part of an ongoing attempt to minimize damage from the levees.

The Georgia Guardsmen joked and enjoyed a soda from a vending machine before leaving for the dangerous operation of heavy machinery at a flood site.

“We’re glad to help out,” said CW4 Mark Morris. “The folks out here in West Texas don’t have to go through this alone.”

As one of the Chinooks took off, a green-fatigued figure gave a thumbs-up to people watching through the dust and wind caused by the downdraft of the “bird.”

Presdio hopes worst is over: Families reeling from devastation

Yes, the flood of ’08 has taken its toll on the brick and mortar of Presidio and Ojinaga; more importantly, however, it has devastated the lives of thousands of families who have lived in this border region for generations.

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