Three dogs belonging to Hank and Stacey Wills sit inside a Colorado National Guard helicopter after being hoisted from the couple’s flooded motorhome near Pagosa Springs, Colorado, on October 23. ( tional Guard) Hank and Stacey Wills tried to evacuate their property ten miles southeast of Pagosa Springs, Colorado, on October 22, when their motorhome stalled in rising floodwaters. Heavy rain had saturated southwestern Colorado and sent rivers and streams across Archuleta County into roads and low-lying areas. As the Rio Blanco River continued to swell, the current swept the motorhome downstream and onto its side, trapping the couple, their three dogs, and two cats for roughly 11 hours before a Colorado National Guard helicopter crew hoisted them to safety.
Two people, three dogs, and two cats were saved from the trapped vehicle. pic.twitter.com/rvEoDV09Tf During the press conference, the Willses and Archuleta County responders reconstructed the night-long ordeal and the rescue effort that followed. The emergency began with a storm the couple believed they could handle, Hank said. A year earlier, southwestern Colorado endured historic flooding.
The Wills’ property flooded then, too, but the water never reached the inside of their house. Expecting this storm to be less severe, they set out sandbags, covered structures with tarps, and moved their chickens and rabbits out of harm’s way. Early on the afternoon of October 22, Archuleta County officials issued mandatory evacuation orders for low-lying areas along four river corridors.
A sheriff’s deputy also came to the Wills property and told them to evacuate, Hank said. The couple did not leave immediately. Hank said they were still trying to secure the property and animals, while monitoring water levels at an upstream diversion dam.
Based on what they had seen during the 2025 flooding, they believed they had roughly five hours after the water peaked upstream before it reached them. By late evening, floodwater had breached their sandbag barrier. The couple gathered their pets, climbed into the motorhome, and tried to evacuate.
Around 10:30 P.M., Hank drove onto a flooded road, and the engine stalled. They called for a tow truck, but authorities closed nearby bridges before it could reach rescuers said in the press conference. Archuleta County Sheriff’s Deputy Craig Tamburelli said he arrived around 2:15 A.M. on October 23.
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