County and federal officials said they prepared areas in Coconino County that were affected by last year’s floods. And they are dependent on millions of dollars in aid from the US government.
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Tunnel fire seen from Bonito Park in northern Arizona on April 19, 2022.
Against the backdrop of a large waterway where homes as far as the eye can see have been repaired and where last year’s floods eroded rock, dirt and silty sediment, Coconino County officials said land northeast of Flagstaff was destroyed by the devastating floods. He emphasized that it is a race against time to protect the Tunnel fire and pipeline fire last year.
“There are quite a few projects underway right now. Of the $90 million total, $35 million will be built this spring,” said Lucinda Andreani, the county’s flood control district director.
Those $90 million were approved by Congress last year for omnibus appropriations bills for county flood control areas, and were endorsed by both Arizona senators.
The Coconino County area experienced nearly 50 floods during last summer’s monsoon. Authorities estimate $1.3 billion worth of property was at stake. On the side of the San Francisco Mountains, workers are repairing a destroyed alluvial fan. And under the mountain’s construction, they’re shaving off channels to hold back the water from the destroyed homes.
US Senator Mark Kelly described the challenge here as an engineering problem to solve.
“We do the same thing every year and expect different results, and we shouldn’t,” he said.
Kelly said he hopes the bipartisan Wildfire Commission he founded with Rep. Mitt Romney will introduce a new approach to fighting fires in the future.
“There are two root causes: not just climate change, but how we fight these fires each season. Maybe we can do a better job.” said Kelly.
Michelle Marisco/KJZZ
Coconino County Commissioner Patrice Horstmann (left to right), U.S. Small Business Administration Commissioner Isabella Casillas Guzman, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, and Coconino County Commissioner Jeronimo Vazquez.
One of the challenges for Andreani, who serves on the committee, is to get immediate assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which has designed a support system for areas hit by short-lived disasters like tornadoes. said.
“It doesn’t work if you have repeated severe flash floods throughout the season,” Andreani says.
Instead, the county turned to the Small Business Administration to provide disaster relief loans to flood-affected residents.
Between the home and State Route 89, contractors have dug a huge straight ditch to channel water and keep it flowing into the highway’s drainage system.
This channel handles 3-4 feet of water moving at 30 feet per second.
Chris Dusza of Civil Tech Engineering is the engineer who designed this channel.
“That’s a lot of water, enough water to carry you to the Verde River,” Dussa said.
At least two more basins destroyed last year still need work. Andreani warns that it’s not over yet.
“We are not yet in formal fire control due to the heavy snowfall, but I suspect the control will begin before the monsoon arrives,” she said.
For now, Coconino County residents have been warned to use sandbags and other short-term flood mitigation measures.
