Rivers rising in Arizona, some residents told to evacuate

RIMROCK, Ariz. (AP) — Some residents of north-central Arizona were told to prepare to evacuate Tuesday afternoon because of rising water levels in rivers and basins.

Yavapai County Sheriff’s officials told residents in the Rimrock and Lake Montezuma areas along Wet Beaver Creek to evacuate or move to higher ground.

Residents of Beaver Creek were advised to evacuate or move to higher ground. An evacuation center was set up in Camp Verde if needed.

The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory Tuesday afternoon for residents in the Oak Creek area south of Sedona.

Winter weather advisories were issued for parts of central, northwest and northeast Arizona with the Flagstaff area forecast to get up to 3 inches of snow.

Arizona Department of Transportation officials said State Route 89A was closed in both directions between Sedona and Flagstaff due to rock slides and adverse weather conditions while State Route 260 was closed near Forest Lakes because of multiple disabled vehicles. State routes 87 in Payson and 64 near the Grand Canyon National Park are also closed.

Salt River Project said storms have compelled the utility to increase the number of water releases from its two reservoirs on the Verde River. The reservoirs are already more than 80% full, officials said in a news release.

SRP says it will begin Tuesday releasing 16,000 cubic feet of water per second, which translates into 120,000 gallons (455,000 liters) of water per second. The number of cubic feet per second could go up more later in the week.

Recent surveys found that snowpack on the 13,000-square mile (34,000-square kilometer) watershed that feeds into those Verde reservoirs is the deepest it’s been in 30 years. SRP, which serves mainly central Arizona, operates by strategically releasing water from dams on the Salt and Verde rivers into a network of canals.