Helicopter rescue crew saves Arizona driver from flooded creek
The Gila County Sheriff's Office said the driver drove around the barricades on Tonto Creek.
Approximately 300 campers stranded at an Arizona park due to flooding from recent rain storms were returning to dry land on Wednesday.
Catalina State Park rangers were working to help them walk across the receding wash at the entrance of the park north of Tucson.
The park has been closed since Monday after the wet weather caused the Cañada del Oro wash to overflow, although campsites and facilities were not affected.
According to authorities, the fast-moving water and debris made the wash unsafe to cross, and water, mud and sand were so deep at the campground that lifted trucks and vehicles could not pass.
IN AZ, FEMALE BODY RECOVERED FROM COLORADO RIVER
Flooding at Catalina State Park (Cisco Gonzalez)
The park was expected to reopen on Thursday, per the Arizona State Parks Twitter account, with social media video showing the wash slowing.
"The flow of the wash is slowing (see video of conditions yesterday vs. present). As soon as the floodwater recedes, our Construction Services team will clear mud/debris from the wash with our heavy equipment so the park can reopen. Currently, campers can walk across," the department wrote on Wednesday.
Floodwaters at Catalina State Park left campers stranded (Cisco Gonzalez)
SOUTHWEST EXPECTS TO SEE STORMS TO BRING IN MORE SNOW, RAIN
"In heavy rainfall, this wash is prone to flooding due to the loss of vegetation from the Bighorn Fire of 2020. We notify campers of this potential when booking campsites, and promptly notify visitors with upcoming reservations of park closures due to weather impacts," it said.
While rain from flooding stranded campers at Catalina State Park, the campsites and facilities were reportedly not affected (Cisco Gonzalez)
Arizona State Parks officials said there are plans and a budget to build a bridge over the wash in the coming years.
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Even lifted vehicles were unable to move through flooded grounds at an Arizona's Catalina State Park park near Tucson (Cisco Gonzalez)
"Part of me was like, ‘ooh, I’d like to show our daughter this place some day,' and now, I’m like if they don’t have a bridge when we come back, definitely going to take a pass," Cisco Gonzalez, one of the campers at the park, told Fox 10 Phoenix.
Flooding happens regularly, especially during the summer monsoon season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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