Rivers and creeks surged across northern Arizona and the Four Corners region over the weekend as heavy rain flooded communities, forced residents from their homes and closed roads. The waterways affected included Oak Creek, the Verde and Salt rivers, and the San Juan River.
Emergency crews rescued residents from flooded homes in Sedona. Communities on the Hopi and Navajo reservations also faced washed out roads and flooding in homes, adding to damage left by another storm system in late October. Roads were closed by floodwaters in Flagstaff, Prescott and parts of the Verde Valley.
Flagstaff officials urged motorists to avoid traveling on Sunday, Nov. 1, saying in a news release that emergency response crews were working at capacity. The Rio de Flag, an ephemeral stream running through the city, carried enough water through town for kayakers.
Along Oak Creek, rapidly rising water threatened businesses near the banks. Jenny Kittredge, manager of Forest Houses Resort in Oak Creek Canyon, described a fast, muddy current carrying trees and debris. She said trees could be heard crashing into one another as the water moved through the canyon.
By Sunday afternoon, Kittredge said the resort had escaped damage, but the creek had climbed to within a few feet of the deck of the property's lowest structure. "It was the highest I have ever seen it in my 33 years here," she said. The creek last reached that level in 1993, when flooding severely damaged homes and crops in northern Arizona.
Kittredge said Forest Houses Resort has no flood insurance because the cost would be prohibitive. The hotel stands beside land burned by the Pocket Fire over the summer, and she said she had been aware of the possibility of flooding across the fire's burn scar.
The wildfire and the flooding have caused economic harm to the hotel and other nearby businesses. Kittredge said some guests had already canceled, and the resort was canceling additional stays because conditions were unsafe. The flooding arrived as the business was beginning to recover from the effects of the fire.
The National Weather Service expected Oak Creek's water level to start falling by Monday. A later rise was forecast for the San Juan River at Shiprock, New Mexico, on the Navajo Nation, where water levels were expected to increase from Monday afternoon through Tuesday.
