Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Flooding



One of the things that I noted in the wake of last month's Schultz fire was the risk of flooding during the monsoon season. Which is exactly what is happening now:

A cloudburst over the San Francisco Peaks fell on the area burned last month in the 15,000-acre Schultz fire, moving boulders into roads and pushing sheds across yards.

Residents said the approaching water and ash sounded like an avalanche, a jet engine, or a loud truck as it came off the mountains into Timberline, flooding some homes and leaving many others with mostly mud in the yard.

http://www.azdailysun.com/news/local/article_320591b2-b939-5865-aa4d-f33cd801bb6a.html

Sadly, a 12 year old girl was swept to her death in the floodwaters:

Shaelyn Wilson, 12, died Tuesday afternoon after falling into a flooded wash south of the old White Vulcan pumice mine near her neighborhood.

She had been watching the floodwaters with her sister after the thunderstorm.

I'll avoid commenting on the lack of wisdom of watching a flood from close proximity, except to say "you really shouldn't do it!"

Speaking of 'lack of wisdom', the ban on campfires in the Coconino and Kaibab National Forests is being lifted, effective today. While we've had some nice rain, the fire danger is still way too high to start allowing campfires. Unless you have a way to insure that the persons who start them are not idiots.

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