Coconino County unveils $70M post-fire flood prevention project
FLAGSTAFF, AZ (AZFamily) — Nearly two years after a wildfire burned 27,000 acres east of Flagstaff and post-fire flooding destroyed properties, the Coconino County and the Natural Resource Conservation Service are seeing the completed mitigation project for the first time.
The county has spent almost $70 million on flood prevention on the east side of Flagstaff. About $60 million of the funding for the project came from the Natural Resource Conservation Service.
After the 2022 Pipeline fire, which put 1,500 homes at risk of post-wildfire flooding, officials knew they had to take action.
As the former congressional representative for Northern Arizona, Tom O’Halleran is no stranger to these kinds of disasters. He played a big role in securing the funding from the NRSC for post-flooding reconstruction.
“Well, the agencies don’t get the funding unless we at Congress work for it,” O’Halleran said. “We have to understand that we are not just working for today but for tomorrow.”
On Tuesday, NRCS Chief Terry Cosby took a tour of the work that their agency funded.
“Just to get out and see the work our staff is doing, especially the staff here in Arizona and the benefits we’re having here on the landscape,” Cosby said.
Parts of the funding have gone toward reconstructing flood corridors that back up to neighborhoods on and off the mountain.
What has the project accomplished so far?
- Seven-and-a-half miles of channels have been stabilized
- Five miles of flood channels and storm drains were inputted
- 250 acres of watershed have been restored
- Including seven of the nine destroyed in the 2022 fire and flooding
There are more prevention projects and funding on their way. O’Halleran said the goal is to keep neighborhoods and families safe.
“That means something so when they go to bed at night they don’t have to worry about a flood coming down that mountain,” he said. “So that child waking up in the middle of the night let’s say from lightning shouldn’t have to worry about that flood that came through their neighborhood.“
Moving forward, the county and NRCS will examine fire prevention to stop future incidents like this.
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