Coconino County is building channels and levees to protect homes on the east side of Flagstaff from future flooding that is exasperated by the Schultz fire that removed stabilizing vegetation above the populated alluvial fan. The county has spent about $2.1 million so far, and the Arizona Div. of Emergency Management has contributed another $2.5 million for the work.
Yesterday, AZGS geologist Ann Youberg was showing me the work she is doing on debris flows from the July 20 storm and it happened that State Emergency Managers were touring mitigation efforts by Coconino County. We tagged along and got to see the work underway on channels, debris basins, and individual home flood protection.
[right, the "Copeland Canal" that extends east from Highway 89. The light colored band on the slope in the background is part of the area burned by the Schultz fire, highlighted in part by the straw dropped by USFS helicopters in hopes of slowing runoff.]
[bottom, county and state emergency officials examine the Cinder Lake dry lake bed where flood runoff is brought by the Copeland Canal which is under construction.]