District adds temporary capacity to Cedar Creek flood fighting measures

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District place segmented sections of temporary protective barriers in the community of Cedar Creek, Arizona, Aug. 17. The project is in response to an Aug. 13 request by the White Mountain Apache Tribe to provide assistance to meet an imminent flood threat. Storm flows from the summer monsoon season, in concert with debris flows from the burned watershed upstream, pose a serious threat because limited flood risk minimization measures (K-rails) are currently in place.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District employees Daryll Fust (right), safety chief, and Kim Gavigan (left), chief of the water resources planning section, tour the Cedar Creek, Arizona, project site Aug. 16. Jim Moye, senior construction representative, led the two on a survey of damage caused in an Aug. 11 storm event. The White Mountain Apache Tribe requested emergency assistance from the Corps to meet the immediate flood risk. The Corps is authorized under Public Law 84-99 to undertake emergency operations and provide flood fight assistance.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District employees Reuben Sasaki (red shirt), hydrologic engineer, and Jim Moye (red cap), senior construction representative, led a site survey for members of the construction team in Cedar Creek, Arizona, Aug. 15. The group toured areas where potential flood and debris flows could threaten lives and structures. The White Mountain Apache Tribe was affected by the Cedar Creek Fire which burned approximately 46,000 acres on their reservation and negatively impacted many of the tribal/non-tribal communities in the area. The National Weather Service forecasts include the potential for substantial flows in Cedar Creek resulting from thunderstorms in this region.