Coconino News

Coconino County issued the following announcement on July 24.

Below is a summary of activities by the Coconino County Flood Control District and City of Flagstaff related to the Museum Flood Area.

The Storm Events: The rain soaked the burn area (and the city) overnight but there was only minimal floodwater due to the low rainfall intensity. In the Mt. Elden Estates area we observed a small but continuous flow of water today, which tells us that the watershed is very saturated. This means that even moderate intensity rain events are likely to cause flooding.  

Weather Forecast: Scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue this evening and tonight, with a continued threat of locally heavy rain and flooding over and downstream of the Museum Fire scar. The National Weather Service has extended the Flash Flood Watch through Sunday night. 

For up to date, local weather, visit https://www.weather.gov/fgz/.   

Volunteer Event : 114 volunteers from the community gave their time at the Neighbor Helping Neighbor volunteer event organized by the United Way of Northern Arizona. They worked tirelessly to fill sandbags, fortify mitigation on the property of residents, and remove debris from sidewalks and properties throughout the Museum Flood Area. A BIG thank you to these volunteers for assisting their neighbors in the Museum Flood Area! 

Sandbag Operations & Placement: 15,300 sandbags were produced overall with volunteers producing 6,600 and conservation corps crews producing 8,700.  

Six properties received 300 sandbags through sandbag placement support . A total of 143 sandbag site placements have been completed to-date for elderly and disabled in the Museum Flood area, with 16 awaiting assistance. Approximately 650,000 to 700,000 sandbags have been placed since the Museum Fire (2019).  Pre-filled and self-fill sandbags continue to be available to both the stations (South parking lot of Coconino High School at 2801 N Izabel and Coconino County Health and Human Services at 2625 King Street).  

Flood Mitigation Site Assessments: 27 site assessments were completed tday and 21 are awaiting assessment. Additional engineering resources were brought in address this backlog so please be patient as we respond to requests. Request a site assessment by contacting the Call Center at 928-679-8525 if you are experiencing one or more of the following:  

• Floodwater has overtopped your sandbags or other mitigation measures  
• The flow of floodwater was not mitigated by your current sandbag walls  
• Mitigation employed by adjacent property owners is impacting your home

Debris Removal: Volunteers assisted six properties with debris removal. At this time, there are no outstanding debris removal requests. Debris removal support is only provided by volunteers and will be scheduled as volunteers are available.  

Operations  

• The National Guard worked with County Public Works crews to raise the level of a dirt road in the Mount Elden Estates area to reduce impacts from severe flooding.  
• Sweeping of streets, clearing of debris from streets and vac truck operations are continuing.  
• To date, 4,425 tons of debris and mud has been removed from Flagstaff streets and drainages.  

Call Center: 9 calls were received , with 434 total calls since the beginning of the flooding.  

Volunteers Needed: United Way of Northern Arizona is planning additional Neighbor Helping Neighbor Events to support flood mitigation efforts. We need more volunteers to make sandbags, place sandbags at residences, and assist with clean up. Please sign up here or call 928-773-9813. 

Private Property Damage Assessments: In the Museum Flood area 19 damage assessments have been completed with an estimated total damage of $258,600. There have also been three commercial property damage assessments totaling $13,000. These are lower figures than were reported earlier given previous figures included the damage from the East Flagstaff Flood Event on July 14. Although these impacts are significant, the flood mitigation placed beginning in 2019 and where maintained by property owners is having a significant positive impact in reducing interior flooding and damage to exteriors of homes/businesses.  

Public Infrastructure Damage Assessment: The City of Flagstaff estimates that damage at 14 sites within the Museum Flood area to public infrastructure totals $1.3 million. This is a lower figure than was reported earlier given previous figures included the damage from the East Flagstaff Flood Event on July 14.  

Below is important information for residents of the Museum Flood Area and those who experienced monsoonal flooding:  

SHELTER IN PLACE: During flood events, residents should shelter in place. Have a Stay Kit ready. 

DEBRIS ON PROPERTY: If you have debris on your property, then you should move the debris to the street if you are able -- only when the water has stopped flowing. This will help County and City Public Works crews remove the debris with their heavy equipment.  

PARKED CARS: If you live on one of the streets that has debris as a result of the flood, then please do not park your car on the streets.  

Original source can be found here.