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Many Mayer Homes Uninhabitable After Flash Flood

Volunteers from around the state are coming to Mayer this weekend to help clean up a flash flood area that destroyed two mobile home parks last week. But many of those homes are now uninhabitable.

American Red Cross caseworker Flo Hencken said the creek turned into a river of mud and ash that took out 37 homes.

“(It’s) very scary,” Hencken said. “I don’t know how they sleep at night when they hear thunder.”

Hencken said many of the homes are now unlivable because the mud will rot and turn to mold.

“Nobody wants to leave and they don’t see how they can leave because the rent is very low,” Hencken said.

So the Red Cross along with several other organizations are raising funds to relocate the families.

Flooding is common after wildfires, like the Goodwin Fire, as they burn away any vegetation holding the ground in place. Authorities warn people living in the burn area to remain vigilant when it storms.

Yavapai County Emergency Management crews have supplied the community with sand bags and they’re working to clear the roads.

Laurel Morales was a Fronteras Desk senior field correspondent in Flagstaff from 2011 to 2020.