| Report From Black Canyon City: Where's FEMA? |
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| Written by Steve Fiegen, Citizen Reporter | |||
| Saturday, 06 February 2010 21:12 | |||
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To many Arizonans, Black Canyon City is just a blip on the map while you're driving to Prescott or Flagstaff. For a lot of Black Canyon City folks, they're thankful for that. Except for those of us that know the famous Rock Springs Café or the pancake-laden Four B’s Restaurant. Just before entering I-17 to the north and heading out of town you’ll pass a bridge that crosses the mostly dry Agua Fria River. To the left was a little community called The River’s Edge RV Park and the home for the historic Stage Stop. Which in it’s name alone dates back to when the west was young. Now I’m using the past tense form because a week ago a seven foot wall of water rushed down the Bradshaw Mountains and literally washed about seventy mobile style homes out of the park. Ninety percent of the residents lost everything. Some RV’s and mobiles were a complete loss. A handful of the residents were a bit optimistic about rebuilding and returning to their homes. Not a great idea because of possibility of black mold which I’m sure will be present. This week my wife and I attended a meeting with public officials concerning the number of suddenly homeless people due to this disaster. Though the public officials were a bit taken back by the incredible show of residents - in fact there was a mad dash to find more chairs - they also made sure that the place was secured by having about seven deputy sheriffs as escorts. Things could get out of hand. Channel 15 was there filming so the officials made sure they were on their best behavior due to the exposure. Most of the top brass was there, even Senator Harper, who had mentioned he didn‘t even realize Black Canyon City had flooded.
Now with FEMA contributing most of the monies and of course them not being present, most of the residents were on edge. Steve and Carol Phillips, the owners of the park are among the residents who lost everything. Steve lost about twenty thousand dollars in tools alone. But he was more than thankful that no one lost their lives, which could have happened.
Now though they had home owners insurance, they didn’t have flood insurance. So it’s questionable if they will recover anything. I don’t understand how an insurance company would not mandate flood insurance in a place called the River’s Edge. It’s almost a joke when you consider that most the washes in Arizona don’t contain water and the manmade lakes and streams have trouble maintaining theirs . It’s about as ludicrous as everyone in Phoenix having snow, hurricane or tornado insurance. It just doesn’t happen. So it all boils down to an Act of God Clause, which I didn’t realize in this case is an umbrella for the insurance company instead of the residents. If I’m not mistaken, and I might be, I think a long time ago one of the long time residents told that before it was named Black Canyon City, the town was called Mud Springs. Kind of ironic isn’t it? A fund has been set up to help the people of Black Canyon City, especially The River’s Edge People. If you would like to help, you can send donations to: Editor's note: To see more photos of the damage, read: Observations & Photos from Black Canyon City Trackback(0)
Comments (3)
Retired USGS hydrologist and registered civil engineer
written by Win Hjalmarson, February 10, 2010
The Real Winners Are Those Who Face Adversity Head On and Don't Flinch
written by Lynne LaMaster, February 08, 2010
Thank you so much for your kind words. However, we were happy to partner with our neighbors in Black Canyon City to let those up here know about their heroic efforts and progress. Thanks for your willingness to provide us with reports and updates - we'll keep publishing what you send!
Lynne is a winner in my book written by Steve Fiegen, February 08, 2010
Regarding the Black Canyon Relief
With her limited reach outside her calling areas, she took the time and effort not only to publish my areticle, but came down with her daughter to film the area. You Prescott people are lucky to have her. I will become a loyal reader of the Prescott News and so will a lot of other people from Black Canyon City. Kudos to your Editor. It's a first rate publication
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| Last Updated on Sunday, 07 February 2010 09:58 |
Editor's Note: Steve Fiegen, (a good friend of the owner of The River's Edge RV Park, Steve Phillips) sent in this report to Prescott eNews unsolicited, hoping we could help keep folks in the Prescott quad-city area informed about the current situation in Black Canyon City. After a few emails back and forth, Fiegen has also agreed to be our eyes and ears and make regular reports on needs, concerns and progress in the area. Here's the first:
One group didn’t make it to the meeting: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which was still evaluating the photos they had taken back to Washington DC. Just like Katrina, FEMA is busy pushing pencils while the poor residents at the River's Edge are shoveling mud trying to recover anything. Though the council handled some pretty sharp questions about the Corp of Engineers and their questionable rebuilding of the banks of the Agua Fria after the last flood, they gave little comfort for any quick response for the residents. Maybe a month or two, they could see a little relief.
You saw the picture of his dump truck buried in six feet of mud. I asked him how many floods he has seen since he took over the RV park and he told me a few, but none that equaled more than an over zealous irrigation status. Steve said that one time he had to remove a couple of RV”s from his back lot.
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As a USGS river hydraulics specialist based in Phoenix several years ago, I was at the Freeway bridge in Black Canyon City at 6 am following the failure. Bodies were being extricated from a pickup with camper that was buried deep in the sand on the left bank of the Agua Fria a few hundred yards below the freeway bridge. The scene was grim. ADOT had called the USGS for technical support to determine the magnitude of the flood peak. Before I set about with the hydraulic work, I examined the flood damage and talked with locals about the characteristics of the flood. The town was abuzz with an account of a Chevy sedan projecting into space as the freeway bridge failed in teeter-tooter fashion. The two occupants survived and the sedan was on display with blown tires and bent rims and all.
In regard to FEMA not being on the scene of the recent major flood, the county has responsibility for enforcing FEMA regulations. A county flood specialist should have been at the scene and probably was.
I wish that people would learn to not occupy flood plains along normally dry streams in Arizona. Floods are flashy, carry lots of debris and have high velocities. Based on the damage shown in the photographs it's fortunate there was no loss of life.