Government, Home, Local, News

Museum Flood Area July 21, 2021 update

by  •  • Comments Off on Museum Flood Area July 21, 2021 update

FLAGSTAFF — Below is a summary of Wednesdays, July 21 activities by the Coconino County Flood Control District and City of Flagstaff related to the Museum Flood Area.

Storm Activity:  The National Weather Service is forecasting increased thunderstorm activity with chances of significant rainfall Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Thunderstorm cells were on the edge of the western section of the Museum burn scar today (with approximately 1.2” of rain). As a result, only the western tributary of the Spruce Wash flowed. In contrast to previous events, the channels and mitigation efforts kept waters largely within the channels and storm drain system.

Sandbag Operations: 9,900 sandbags were produced and delivered to both the stations and to supply sandbagging placement operations for the elderly and disabled. Total number of sandbags in the Museum Flood area now exceeds 650,000 (2019 to today).

Flood Mitigation Site Assessments: Additional engineering resources have been secured to assist with performing flood mitigation site assessments. There is currently a backlog so please be patient as we respond to requests. Please request a site assessment by contacting the Call Center 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

Public Infrastructure Assessment: The City of Flagstaff is conducting ongoing assessments of the public infrastructure impacted by the flooding and have identified 103 sites. The damage to these sites has an estimated damage (plus labor and equipment) of $3 million.

Private Property Assessment: 120 private property flood impact assessments have been completed, 49 of which were reporting interior damage, 50 reporting exterior damage, and 21 reporting interior and exterior. The cost estimate to date is $1.35 million. If your home has been impacted on the interior by flooding, then please report the impacts by calling the Museum Flood Area Call Center at 928-679-8525.   

Operations: Crews are making good progress on responding to elderly and disabled site assessments and debris removal or sandbag requests. The work will continue tomorrow.

  • Crews in Mt. Elden Estates are scraping flood debris off roads so that they are open and passable after today’s storm.
  • Crews are cleaning inlets at Dortha Crossing and Arroyo Seco, which will be completed today in preparation for the next rain event.
  • Crews are evaluating potential improvements at Arroyo Seco and Linda Vista.
  • Crews removed the damaged trash rack at the Linda Vista culvert and will replace when repaired.
  • ADOT performed excavation work at the Route 66 culverts to improve water flow.

National Guard: The National Guard Engineering and Operations team arrived and will deploy to the area Thursday.

Neighborly Behavior: Coconino County and the City of Flagstaff will continue communicating to the public that they should not be visiting Museum Flood Area neighborhoods and that visiting the area kicks up dust and prevents crews from efficiently working on their clean-up efforts.

Volunteers Needed: Please ask your friends, family, and co-workers outside of the flood area to assist by volunteering. United Way of Northern Arizona is planning a Neighbor Helping Neighbor Event to help support with flood mitigation this Saturday, July 24 from 7:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. We need more volunteers to make sandbags, place sandbags at residences, and to assist with clean up. Please sign up at uwna.volunteerhub.com or call 928-773-9813.

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