FAQ 11 Turn Around Don't Drown
Well, folks, it's that time of year again. Dry washes fill up in seconds. The power of water in the desert is massive. It can devour families, semis, and even houses, and mobile homes. One lone person is no match for a desert storm.
Washes in Arizona are very dangerous during monsoon season. A family who explored a wash in Northern Arizona was decimated by a sudden powerful flooded wash.
In my story, Murder@ the Black Mesa Cafe, Minerva, and Michael Doyle, along with neighbors Victor and Pearl Steven rescue an unsuspecting motorist and her family from a flooded wash.
The woman was lucky that Minerva and Michael, along with their neighbors Pearl and Victor Steven, who volunteered to rescue the family. Even then, the cost of a helicopter rescue from Show Low to Holbrook could be astronomical.
When I lived in Northern Arizona I constantly watched the Weather channel because I drove a hundred miles or more to the outlying towns every day. Once I was stranded for several hours on Concho highway between the Silver Creek and the wash by the Country Store.
Car Trapped in Wash
Please if you are not from Arizona take care. A storm miles away in the distance can bring a wall of water crashing down the narrow bone-dry washes. The water has no place to go. the desert ground is like cement, it can't absorb a year's worth of rain in one hour.
Any amount of substantial rain in Arizona can cause instant flash flooding in the washes and creeks. Don't ever camp or hike near a wash no matter what time of year. Especially don't drive through one. Don't underestimate the power of a flash flood.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3akkSEGFhI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZair4Snmko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZqCGbHCZn4
To cover the cost of rescuing obstinate drivers Arizona passed a Stupid Driver law.
From Arizona Statutes
28-910. Liability for emergency responses in flood areas; definitions
A. A driver of a vehicle who drives the vehicle on a public street or highway that is temporarily covered by a rise in water level, including groundwater or overflow of water, and that is barricaded because of flooding is liable for the expenses of any emergency response that is required to remove from the public street or highway the driver or any passenger in the vehicle that becomes inoperable on the public street or highway or the vehicle that becomes inoperable on the public street or highway, or both.
B. A person convicted of violating section 28-693 for driving a vehicle into any area that is temporarily covered by a rise in water level, including groundwater or overflow of water, may be liable for expenses of any emergency response that is required to remove from the area the driver or any passenger in the vehicle that becomes inoperable in the area or the vehicle that becomes inoperable in the area, or both.
C. The expenses of an emergency response are a charge against the person liable for those expenses pursuant to subsection A or B of this section. The charge constitutes a debt of that person and may be collected proportionately by the public agencies, for-profit entities or not-for-profit entities that incurred the expenses. The person's liability for the expenses of an emergency response shall not exceed two thousand dollars for a single incident. The liability imposed under this section is in addition to and not in limitation of any other liability that may be imposed.
D. An insurance policy may exclude coverage for a person's liability for expenses of an emergency response under this section.
E. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Expenses of an emergency response" means reasonable costs directly incurred by public agencies, for-profit entities or not-for-profit entities that make an appropriate emergency response to an incident.
2. "Public agency" means this state and any city, county, municipal corporation, district or other public authority that is located in whole or in part in this state and that provides police, fire fighting, medical or other emergency services.
3. "Reasonable costs" includes the costs of providing police, fire fighting, rescue and emergency medical services at the scene of an incident and the salaries of the persons who respond to the incident but does not include charges assessed by an ambulance service that is regulated pursuant to title 36, chapter 21.1, article 2.
Please if you are not from Arizona take care. A storm miles away in the distance can bring a wall of water crashing down the narrow bone-dry washes. The water has no place to go. the desert ground is like cement, it can't absorb a year's worth of rain in one hour.
Any amount of substantial rain in Arizona can cause instant flash flooding in the washes and creeks. Don't ever camp or hike near a wash no matter what time of year. Especially don't drive through one. Don't underestimate the power of a flash flood.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZair4Snmko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZqCGbHCZn4
To cover the cost of rescuing obstinate drivers Arizona passed a Stupid Driver law.
From Arizona Statutes
28-910. Liability for emergency responses in flood areas; definitions
A. A driver of a vehicle who drives the vehicle on a public street or highway that is temporarily covered by a rise in water level, including groundwater or overflow of water, and that is barricaded because of flooding is liable for the expenses of any emergency response that is required to remove from the public street or highway the driver or any passenger in the vehicle that becomes inoperable on the public street or highway or the vehicle that becomes inoperable on the public street or highway, or both.
B. A person convicted of violating section 28-693 for driving a vehicle into any area that is temporarily covered by a rise in water level, including groundwater or overflow of water, may be liable for expenses of any emergency response that is required to remove from the area the driver or any passenger in the vehicle that becomes inoperable in the area or the vehicle that becomes inoperable in the area, or both.
C. The expenses of an emergency response are a charge against the person liable for those expenses pursuant to subsection A or B of this section. The charge constitutes a debt of that person and may be collected proportionately by the public agencies, for-profit entities or not-for-profit entities that incurred the expenses. The person's liability for the expenses of an emergency response shall not exceed two thousand dollars for a single incident. The liability imposed under this section is in addition to and not in limitation of any other liability that may be imposed.
D. An insurance policy may exclude coverage for a person's liability for expenses of an emergency response under this section.
E. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Expenses of an emergency response" means reasonable costs directly incurred by public agencies, for-profit entities or not-for-profit entities that make an appropriate emergency response to an incident.
2. "Public agency" means this state and any city, county, municipal corporation, district or other public authority that is located in whole or in part in this state and that provides police, fire fighting, medical or other emergency services.
3. "Reasonable costs" includes the costs of providing police, fire fighting, rescue and emergency medical services at the scene of an incident and the salaries of the persons who respond to the incident but does not include charges assessed by an ambulance service that is regulated pursuant to title 36, chapter 21.1, article 2.
