About 65 people were stranded in Oak Creek Canyon after floodwaters piled uprooted trees and heavy timber against the only bridge leading out of Cave Springs Campground, cutting off their access road. The Coconino County Sheriff's Office put the number at about 65. Crews planned to deliver emergency food and water Tuesday morning while the group waited for water levels to recede.
The crossing at Cave Springs Campground was left underwater, leaving campers stranded. County emergency personnel reported that everyone stranded remained safe, with no immediate medical evacuations requested, while crews planned to deliver food and water Tuesday morning, according to 12News.
Logs and Timber Dam the Only Way Out
The physical culprit wasn't rising water alone but what it carried with it. Floodwaters overflowing the low-water bridge crossing swept uprooted trees and heavy timber downstream, where they piled up against the bridge structure and formed a debris dam that sealed off the campground's lone access road, as detailed in footage from FOX 10 Phoenix. Edgar Cano, a long-time seasonal worker at the site, said he'd never seen water levels this high in 25 years on the job.
Denver visitor Steve Branch had arrived the previous evening and planned to leave the next morning, but flooding stranded him at the campground, the outlet reported.
Storms Bring Flooding to Oak Creek Canyon
Heavy rains brought flooding to Oak Creek Canyon.
Floodwaters carried debris toward the Cave Springs crossing, where it collected against the bridge.
Oak Creek was brown and debris-filled, and officials advised visitors not to enter; the creek had reopened.
Risk Along Lower Oak Creek
Cave Springs Campground sits along State Route 89A roughly 12 miles north of Sedona. The current flooding comes after Hoodline reported on the June 89A brush-fire closure.
Twenty-four properties along lower Oak Creek were identified as being at elevated risk.
The financial toll of repeated closures is already being felt downstream at Slide Rock State Park, where manager Sam Axford said in September that post-fire creek shutdowns had forced staff to turn away more than 7,000 vehicles during peak season. The park relies entirely on gate fees to fund its operations, making each closure a direct hit to its bottom line.
Arizona's Flood Laws Target Risky Drivers
State law gives Arizona officials a financial tool against drivers who ignore flood warnings elsewhere in the canyon system. Under the state's so-called Stupid Motorist Law, A.R.S. § 28-910, drivers who push past posted barricades into flooded low-water crossings can be held liable for up to $2,000 in emergency response and rescue costs.
Hoodline previously covered flooding at the nearby Verde Valley's Out of Africa Wildlife Park in Camp Verde, which caused an estimated $250,000 in combined damage and lost ticket revenue.
