High water threatens Arizona dam
Collapsed road blamed in 1 death
PHOENIX — The impact of remnants from Tropical Storm Rosa was still rippling across Arizona Thursday as two people died on roads in separate incidents and the potential breach at a dam threatened to inundate a Native American village near the Mexico border.
The water level at a lake swollen by rain and runoff had receded somewhat, but the damaged dam could still fail to shield the village of Ali Chuk on the Tohono O’odham Nation, tribal officials said in a statement late Wednesday.
With more rain expected, the tribe planned to assemble engineers to inspect the structural integrity of Menagers Dam.
It previously suffered “erosional damage” when it was overtopped by water from rains, the National Weather Service said in a statement extending a flash flood warning until Thursday afternoon for Ali Chuk.
Most of Ali Chuk’s more than 100 residents evacuated or left on their own, but tribal officials said a few refused to leave. The smaller Kohatk Village in Pinal County was also forced to evacuate more than 30 residents.
All evacuees are receiving assistance from the American Red Cross and other volunteers, tribal chairman Edward Manuel said.
In northwestern Arizona, the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office said a man was found dead Thursday in a flooded wash bed in Golden Valley.
Elsewhere, a completely washed out section of a major highway near the Grand Canyon was closed Thursday after a deadly collision.
The northbound lanes of U.S. 89 were closed in Cameron and southbound lanes were closed at a junction north of Cameron, the Arizona Department of Transportation said in a statement. The closure is expected to last several days.
The stretch of highway is the most direct route to the Grand Canyon’s North Rim and Lake Powell.
The highway also runs through several Navajo communities. The Navajo Nation has declared a state of emergency.