Water floods area denuded by fire, damaging 4 homes

Donna Ramaeker got 2 feet of mud in her basement at Rail Oaks Ranch, a bed-and-breakfast she owns in the Huachuca Mountains south of Sierra Vista.

"It was just like a raging river" in the wash behind her house, she said. "It was just coming so hard and so fast, out of control. It was really pretty scary."

Rainwater rushed down bare land that was burned in last month's wildfire.

Volunteers from the Real Wishes Foundation helped a couple, who had 2 to 4 feet of mud and water come into their home through their windows, said Patti Miller, president of the group.

Suitcases the couple had packed for an emergency evacuation washed away, she said.

"They left with basically the shirt on their backs. They had nothing else," Miller said.

The foundation set them up in an apartment and worked Monday to move their belongings to storage and clean out the house.

Six other homes had damage in their yards, said Fry Fire District Chief Bill Miller, and he thinks more floods are coming.

"I think it's just the beginning," he said. "The rainfall actually happened in the upper canyon areas. About an inch fell. If the whole canyon received one inch, it could have been 10 times worse."

County crews worked Monday to clear roads and deliver sandbags.

The flooding began at around 2 p.m. Sunday. Water spilled onto Arizona 92, but receded before there was enough danger to close the road, Miller said. Water flow was reported as far as five miles away from Miller Creek. No injuries were reported.

Two large propane tanks were washed off their foundations by the water.

Troy Barnett, of Barnett's Propane in Sierra Vista, helped shut off the valve on a 500-gallon propane tank that was leaking liquid fuel after it was swept downstream and crashed into a workshop.

Firefighters used a hose to blast 2 feet of mud and rocks off the tank so Barnett could reach the valve.

Barnett and firefighters also tended to a 250-gallon propane tank that was washed nearly a mile, crossing under Arizona 92 on its way to someone's backyard. Gas in that tank evaporated, and a strong breeze helped disperse the gas, Barnett said.

Barnett, whose own family was evacuated for three days during the fire, sent drivers from his company out on Monday to help customers find ways to secure their gas tanks.

Tom Beatty, who operates an apple orchard and bed-and-breakfast in Miller Canyon, said Monday that five of his six cabins are unusable, and the part of his orchard that didn't burn in the Monument Fire is now buried in rock.

Two cabins were inundated with charcoal-colored mud and water, and three are on a hillside that has become dangerously unstable.

The worst is yet to come, said Beatty. Miller Creek had very little water flowing through it Sunday, with most of the damage coming from a creek that drains Carr Peak and the slopes above his compound that were denuded by the fire.

Beatty said 1.66 inches of rain fell on those slopes and more than an inch fell at his home.

Beatty, 73, stayed at his home when the fire came through last month and said he and his wife and son intend to stay for the floods, though he expects the road to be intermittently impassable.

"We're going to be unstable here for a while. It'll take a year and a half at a minimum, maybe two, to settle down," said Beatty.

His business is closed indefinitely, he said. "We've only got one unit we could rent and the road is washed out."

Water and mud also flowed through the main house, he said, but the upstairs is usable.

Contact reporter Becky Pallack at bpallack@azstarnet.com or 807-8012.