Moderator: HAZ - Moderators
Cold Spring is on Ellison Creek on private ranch property. FR420 is the road you hike to Ellison Creek Cascades. I believe this is the location this occurred. (Six are still missing)updated information regarding a Search and Rescue operation off Forest Service Road 420 at the Cold Springs Swimming Hole North of Payson, Arizona.... On July 15, 2017, at approximately 3:19 p.m., the Gila County Sheriff’s Office received a 9-1-1 call regarding a Search and Rescue Operation around the Cold Springs Swimming Hole....
Four individuals have been confirmed deceased and search operations continue for remaining missing individuals. At this time the First Crossing and Second Crossing on Houston Mesa Road as well as Waterwheel are closed.
And later, extended the earlier warning with this one:BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Flash Flood Warning
National Weather Service Flagstaff AZ
143 PM MST SAT JUL 15 2017
The National Weather Service in Flagstaff has issued a
* Flash Flood Warning for...
Gila County in east central Arizona...
* Until 445 PM MST
* At 142 PM MST, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing
heavy rain over the Highline Fire scar. Flash flooding within the
scar and downstream is expected to begin shortly.
* Some locations that will experience flooding include...
Whispering Pines, Bonita Creek Estates, Ellison Creek Estates, La
Cienega Estates, Pyle Ranch.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Move to higher ground now. Act quickly to protect your life.
Heavy rainfall will likely trigger life threatening flash floods and
debris flows in and near the Highline fire scar. Some roadways and
trails within and downstream of the scar, including Forest Road 112,
may be inundated or washed out. Homes downstream of the scar in the
Bonita Creek, Ellison Creek, Pyle Ranch, and La Cienega Ranch areas
may be impacted by high water and debris flows. Move away from
drainages now!
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Flash Flood Warning
National Weather Service Flagstaff AZ
449 PM MST SAT JUL 15 2017
The National Weather Service in Flagstaff has issued a
* Flash Flood Warning for...
Gila County in east central Arizona...
* Until 615 PM MST
* At 446 PM MST, local law enforcement officials reported flash
flooding across the warned area. Flash flooding is already
occurring, with ongoing water rescues on Ellison Creek. Rainfall
has ended across the area for now, although additional rainfall
could develop later this evening.
* Some locations that will experience flooding include...
Whispering Pines, Bonita Creek Estates, Ellison Creek Estates, La
Cienega Estates, Pyle Ranch.
Those photos include one of Brandon sitting on the rock in the middle of the flood (where he took the videos that I screen capped in the post above). Wow.trekkin_gecko wrote: http://www.azfamily.com/story/35895392/ ... ear-payson
The listing on Alltrails (created in 2010) calls it Cold Springs so there is some evidence to it being a commonly used name.chumley wrote: In other news, had anybody ever heard of the "Cold Springs swimming hole" before yesterday? I wonder where the name came from. I think it was GCSO that described it that way in the first reports and it just sort ended up being called that. Perhaps it's an older local name for the area?
I was awed by the vast quantity of trees in the debris in the videos and photos. I've only seen debris like that from fire-damaged areas.chumley wrote:
Not to diminish the dangers of potential flash flooding from monsoon storms along any watercourse, especially in narrows found in some parts of WCC, but what happened along Ellison was an extraordinary occurrence. The conditions upstream in WCC right now don't favor a similar fire-scarred runoff and erosion event.
Not that I'd take AllTrails as gospel, but that's just a GPS track that somebody posted and named Cold Springs. AT doesn't have a hike description by that name, though it does have descriptions listed for Water Wheel Falls and Ellison Creek Trail, both of which end at the cascade.Tough_Boots wrote:The listing on Alltrails (created in 2010) calls it Cold Springs so there is some evidence to it being a commonly used name.
Is there something useful on the map you attached that I'm missing?chumley wrote:Cold Spring is on Ellison Creek on private ranch property.