Rain-caused floods force water rescues in Phoenix area over weekend
Jan 23, 2017, 2:52 PM
PHOENIX — Rescue crews were forced into action this weekend after Phoenix-area drivers became trapped in floodwaters triggered by recent rain.
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office’s Fox 2 helicopter and crew — along with personnel from several Valley fire departments — were involved in multiple swift water rescues early Saturday morning.
MCSO pilot Steve Glennie said at least eight people were rescued from the flooding.
“It’s the call you don’t want to get,” he said. “You don’t want to see people in peril.”
Glennie said the weather made the rescues a little complicated.
“It’s raining. You have a low ceiling and you’re wearing night vision goggles and you’re picking people off of a roof. One of those rescued was from water that was completely over top of the roof on her jeep. That was difficult because of the cliff face we had to hover next to.”
Daisy Mountain Fire Division Chief Dan Jarrett said the rescues were a team effort.
“We’re all one big fire department when it comes to running on these calls.We had technical rescue teams from Phoenix, some specialists came from Peoria and Glendale as well. We’ve run a number of these calls on the New River Wash. That thing really gets going fast with a tremendous amount of water coming down from the mountains.”
No motorists or first responders were severely injured in the rescues.