Coconino County monsoon flooding risks rise after unprecedented rain

On soon has arrived crossing the valley off and on, but hitting the high country most every day with storm after storm. But so far, no major flooding. Jacob Luthi joins us live with more on projects to keep people in property protected. Jacob. Yeah, Brian Coconino County says that they've invested millions in watershed restoration, but officials say unprecedented recent rain has left the ground so saturated that flooding risks are increasing. This was over the entire eight watersheds that had burned. Lucinda Andreani with the Flood Control District of Coconino County says Saturday evening, burn scars from the 2022 pipeline and 2010 Schultz fires were impacted by unprecedented rainfall. We had upwards of four inches of rainfall recorded in and over two and a half inches recorded in a number of gauges. She says the area was so dry from low moisture the last couple of years that much of the rain was absorbed into the ground. But she says with continuous rain, problems could arise. Now what you're going to see is what we call much more responsive watersheds. It's water's going to flow off and there's nowhere for it to go now except to flow downhill and into the neighborhoods. Coconino County says it has invested about $120 million in watershed restoration and flood mitigation since the pipeline fire. Officials say the system can handle up to two inches of rain in 45 minutes. But as the ground becomes more saturated, floodwaters can rise faster, overwhelm the system, and make emergency alerts even more important. We really want to encourage everyone in the area to be very alert to the emergency notifications, be very mindful of where their children are at all times, and take the necessary precautions. Now with this monsoon season underway, county flood directors say that they're working hand in hand with the weather service daily using forest service burn maps to model potential flood paths before the next storm hits. Jacob Luthi, Fox 10 News.