2/2/2010 9:40:00 PM Black Canyon City: 150+ homes lost
Joanna Dodder/ The Daily Courier Howard Cassutt surveys the Jan. 21-22 flood damage in the mobile home of his friend Ronnie Burke Monday at the River's Edge RV Park in Black Canyon City. Mud is visible as high as the kitchen counter top. The water heater under the counter clearly is destroyed, and the trailer is a total loss.
Joanna Dodder/ The Daily Courier Residents of the River's Edge RV Park in Black Canyon City have filled two huge trash bins with items ruined by the Jan. 21-22 flood.
Hearing the frustration in the voices of Black Canyon City residents trying to rebuild their flooded community, government officials told more than 200 citizens at a meeting Monday they would do all they can to help.
Initial damage surveys have counted approximately 150-200 homes destroyed and another 200-300 with major impacts from the record-breaking Black Canyon City flooding on Jan. 21-22, said Arizona Division of Emergency Management Director Lou Trammell.
He urged everyone in Yavapai County to report all the flood damage they can, so that private property will qualify for federal monetary aid alongside public property. Call 1-877-464-1144.
Even if the county doesn't qualify for federal aid, other help will be available, he said.
"We think wholeheartedly that we're going to be able to bring this community back better than the way it was," Trammell said.
Arizona Sen. Jack Harper suggested that Gov. Jan Brewer could help flood victims with some of the $100 million worth of non-earmarked federal stimulus money under her control.
A Red Cross shelter is closing at 10 a.m. Thursday, since a maximum of only two people have stayed there during any evening.
A few dozen victims have been getting regular free meals from the Salvation Army, but those will end today. Volunteers hope that Meals on Wheels will then help at least once a day, and they're looking at other options, local volunteer Kelli Welch said.
Officials also praised residents for helping themselves. For example, two local businesses have organized fundraising events for the next two Saturdays. Others set up a bank account for victims. People throughout the state and country have sent donations of money, food and clothing.
Between the expressions of frustration and uncertainty, victims thanked charity contributors and even government officials for their help. Linda Colbert, for example, made sure she thanked the fire department for saving her two cats even though she lost everything in her River's Edge trailer home.
Rumor control
Government and community leaders used the meeting to squelch rumors that tend to follow natural disasters.
For example, an experienced third party will oversee the victim bank account, not local residents Welch explained.
Rumors also are not true that one of the hardest-hit areas, the River's Edge RV Park, has been condemned, added Yavapai County Development Services Interim Director Steve Mauk.
No one can return to the park until water, electricity and sewer services are up and running properly, Mauk said.
Earlier in the day, maintenance manager Joe Moeller said the trailer park might need to just pump out the septic tank after people clear out layers of mud up to three feet deep.
"My dump truck is buried," he said while Sen. Harper toured the area below. "All I can see is the roof and hood."
When asked what trailer park residents need, Moeller replied, "We need a lot of support.
Resident Ronnie Burke was surveying the damage to his trailer with friends and family Monday before heading over to the community meeting. After several false alarms in the past, he was shocked to see 2 feet of water in the park Jan. 22, and he quickly evacuated.
His mobile home is destroyed, and he has no insurance or job. His only income is federal disability payments. He feels lucky that he has a temporary place to stay with his mother.
Any trailers or mobile homes that come back into the trailer park now will have to follow the floodplain rules in the county development code that took effect in 2005, Mauk explained before the meeting. Trailers must be mobile, so they won't be able to have porches and the like. And pre-1976 trailers will not be allowed.
Roads and dikes
Several people at Monday's meeting expressed concerns about the loss over time of dikes that help keep back floodwaters in the three waterways that course through Black Canyon City. Land development also has altered the waterways, they noted.
Charlie Cave of the Yavapai County Flood Control District said none of the dikes are government maintained, and sometimes levees can be cost-prohibitive and even make flooding worse.
He said the county and federal governments will try to reduce flood risks in the community.
The county is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency as it develops new floodplain maps for the area, Cave added.
Yavapai County Supervisor Tom Thurman asked residents for patience as the county works with FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers to rebuild the Maren Avenue crossing over Black Canyon Creek. Maren is the only access to about 32 homes. It is re-opened now, but it's a rough crossing.
The design for a stronger concrete creek crossing should be done in 4-6 weeks, Yavapai County Public Works Director Phil Bourdon said.
The county probably won't try to reopen Squaw Valley Road until the El Niño weather phenomenon fades, Thurman said. A section of Squaw Valley Road is buried in sand, rocks and boulders delivered by floodwaters.
El Niño could continue to bring unusually wet weather to Arizona through the spring.
Where to get help
Black Canyon City flood victims can get help through the following programs:
• Go to the State Individual Assistance Center at the "old school" at 18800 School House Road from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Bring identification. The center can help with a variety of needs, from medications to counseling.
• Go to the old school specifically for housing assistance at 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday. Catholic Charities will have information about state-financed rental properties that will waive security deposits and allow month-to-month leases. Those unable to visit the center Thursday can call 928-778-2531.
• Call the Red Cross at 1-800-842-7349 to get help with basic human needs.
• To report public and private property damage throughout the state, call 1-877-464-1144 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
How to give help
A local nonprofit group called the High Desert Helpers set up a website at www.bccdisasterrelieffund.com with information about fundraisers, a bank account and other projects to help Black Canyon City flood victims.
Here are ways that people can help Black Canyon City flood victims:
• Send checks payable to Black Canyon City Disaster Relief Fund to the Bank of the West, P.O. Box 86-J, Black Canyon City, Ariz. 85324.
• Attend a fundraiser in Black Canyon City. The Javelina Crossing Saloon will conduct a fundraiser at 10 a.m. to close Saturday with at least six live bands alongside raffles, auctions and food. Then Poor Reds Station will do the same at 1 p.m. to close on Saturday, Feb. 13.
• Businesses and individuals can donate auction items to the two fundraisers. For details go to the disaster relief fund website.
Reader Comments
Posted: Friday, February 05, 2010
Article comment by:
jim
We just never learn do we? If you build next to waterways (creeks ect.) you have a pretty good chance of losing everything one day. This is not the first time BCC has been flooded so no shocker here. I make it a practice NOT to rent or buy where water has a chance to flood me out. Those that do and obtain flood insurance, only cause my rates to go up when they get washed away. When will we
discover the serum which makes people retain their common sense all through life rather than losing it somewhere along the way? See you here again in ten years folks.
Posted: Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Article comment by:
Kelli Welch
Thanks for not taking anything I said out of context and the article was written well and didn't paint BCC in such a negative light. Thank you very much
Posted: Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Article comment by:
Run down hill
Word of advice don't buy or rent a house next to a large creek or river that has ever had a history of flooding. This one floods because it tracks from the mountains that have snow and rain that runs down hill. When you buy or rent a house remember this one thing. Water runs down hill. I am way sorry for the home losses.
Posted: Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Article comment by:
antonebraga
What does anyone expect in case of loss (hurricane, tornado, earthquake, flood, fire, etc.)?
The disaster itself is news. What happens after the dust settles is the story.
Insurance policyholders, and more importantly disaster survivors, need to be informed of access to basic rights and information. Much is available, gratis! It just takes looking: www.disasterprepared.net/info.html
I asked, "Where are the sacred rights of an insurance policyholder?"
And because they were secret, I said, "I must create access."
Posted: Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Article comment by:
No name provided
My point, look at your tax bill, item 15001 Yav. FloodControlDist. What exactly is it we pay for? They resurvey the county and put 30% more in flood zones to justify thier existance, yet allow people to build in the creek. I say fire them, and build how ever you want, the only difference would be you would have to be responsable for your own actions and would have a few extra dollars in your pocket for the tax you didnt have to pay. All the government agencies in the world wont hold back water, they only want your money!
