Climate change and extreme drought are making fires bigger, hotter and faster than ever before, creating new dangers and upending the lives of thousands of people. And now, the burnt remains left behind are flooding areas that were previously free from flooding.

All of this is taking a toll on some Flagstaff residents who live under the constant threat posed by monsoon storms and, in some cases, in almost uninhabitable areas.

It’s a mid-August afternoon, and Wes Dison, Coconino County’s emergency management chief, gets behind the wheel of his white SUV and looks nervously at the dark, menacing clouds that hang over the San Francisco Peaks.

“Yeah copy it. This is a really bad storm. We’re watching it and it’s going to get worse,” he says into the walkie-talkie.

“I’d like to inform you that about half an inch of rain has fallen in the last 15 minutes,” replies the voice on the other side.

As a storm pours heavy rain over the burn scars of June’s pipeline fires, radio chatter begins to increase, sending emergency alerts to cell phones.

“This could be one of the worst cases,” says Dison. “So I was here when these storms hit.

The rain intensifies, a quarter-inch of hail pours down on the car, and thunder sounds like inches away. Disson transforms the car into his one in many areas devastated by floods. A torrent of dark brown water overwhelms the culvert, clogged with a mass of logs and sticks. A newly formed river spews onto the road, making it impassable.

“It tore up the whole infrastructure. We have to get out — we have to get out because when it comes loose it creates problems,” Disson said, looking for another route around the deluge. while saying.

It’s a terrible storm, but it’s not the worst storm to hit the region in a summer of unprecedented wildfires and flooding. , long-term solutions are not immediately available.

“It’s a dire situation. It’s scary out there. It’s devastating to people’s lives.

She and other officials have asked Congress for emergency funding to deal with monsoon rains hitting San Francisco’s peaks on an almost daily basis, followed by devastating flooding in the region below. It’s asking for nearly $50 million.

“We are working diligently with congressional delegations to raise funds and put in place long-term mitigation measures, but it will take time,” she said.

But time is not a luxury that everyone has, especially in the Flood Zone where Chase Wilson lives with his family.

“These concrete barriers basically surround almost three-quarters of my house,” he says, before several feet of flood-buried dirt between the concrete rows. . “It washed all over here so there was literally dust around the house.”

Wilson lives on the east side of the San Francisco Peaks on the Wupatki Trails, one of the areas most affected by flooding from pipeline fires this summer. His property is muddy and every doorway is piled with muddy sandbags.

“I don’t even know how to describe it. It just washed away,” he says. “It’s kind of a weird environment, with soft fine dirt everywhere.”

Wilson says he can’t count the number of times his house has been flooded, but during the height of the monsoon, it flooded in two or three times a week. He walks to the side door and enters the garage, which until recently was full of mud. Looking inside, the house looks like it was just built. His first two feet of drywall are missing, bare studs are exposed, floors are stripped, and appliances have been removed.

“We cannot stay or live here because the flooding continues. I have two small children and a pregnant wife, so what would be the ideal situation? I can’t say

Wilson and his family were forced to evacuate three times this summer due to wildfires and floods. There is a lot of support from the community, but recovery will take time and will be expensive.

“It’s heartbreaking to watch as a father,” he says. “I don’t want my kids to grow up that way, I just want them to feel safe and comfortable and just be able to live their lives. Do I need to prepare?

Authorities have provided as much short-term mitigation as they could in the form of hundreds of thousands of sandbags and miles of concrete barriers just to get them through the monsoon season. I am letting you.

“Our community is mentally drained,” says Jeronimo Vazquez, Coconino County Superintendent who represents Wilson and others in flood-affected areas northeast of Flagstaff. “We suffered in quick succession: two fires and then floods. It is not sustainable. is where we are pointing to.”

Officials and scientists say it’s the best way to combat these disasters exacerbated by climate change.

“In Arizona, temperatures are rising about two degrees Celsius, creating a very dangerous situation,” says Andrew Sanchez Medder, executive director of the Ecological Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University.

He said these extreme events are likely to continue, and he and many firefighters fear another major fire at San Francisco Peaks.

“We humans are going to learn how to get through this, but we don’t have to, and it costs both people and communities,” he says. “As you can see, you can feel the anxiety rising before the monsoon.”

But he believes that reforestation projects slated for the next few years will help protect against the twin threats of fire and flooding, giving communities time to plan for the inevitable next. I hope we can secure it.