Flash flood in AZ

RockyMt it was the KOA just east of Buena Vista on 285/24 just east of the Johnson Village area. It didn't get wiped out or anything but there was definitely a lot of water flowing and it caused a lot of road damage for them along with a few somewhat sunk trailers and some fairly wet tent campers. It was one heck of a storm lasted about 45-50 minutes and came from the south then circled around. Started with the southern side of the trailer getting pummeled, then the north side then east side(must have hit the west side as well but I must not have been able to tell since we were sitting in the east side living area as the west side was the bedroom and wasnt in it except to check for leaks. The hail while extremely noisy was just pea sized. There was still hail on the ground the following morning off in the distance on the other side of 285 Had the little grand kids with me and well they were scared. Nothing like a hailstorm in a trailer with a very hard wind driven rain. On the plus side I didn't note any damage to the trailer and did not see any leaks and I looked for them particularly around the slides while it was raining. The CG owner certainly had his work cut out for him for a couple days that's for sure.

We were in Buena Vista Sunday morning and it didn't look like they got hit with it even though it was only two miles away or so. Also met my wife and other grand kid on the colorado trail for a resupply Sunday am and while it rained on them for a bit that night it was just regular rain, the forest service roads I had to take to get to the meeting place seemed fine and did not appear to have been blasted the night before either.

Out West unless you are very familiar and know the road as good as your hand,
NEVER, NEVER ENTER A WASH THAT HAS WATER FLOWING, specially muddy water the flash flood can and does erode the pavement and the culvert tubes and leaves a channel that can be several feet deep.

It can also rain in the mountains several miles away and bee perfectly dry where you are and have a flash flood go through the wash and sweep everything away.

Pay attention to weather reports and signs and also seek local advice, those of us that live out west know a thing or two about flash floods.

navegator

BarryG20- what campground?

Sad day for sure.
We have done a pretty fair amount of canyoneering and are quite aware of the need to watch the weather in the immediate vicinity and upstream for a day or two previous to the excursion.
However you need to be cognizant of where you park or camp regardless of if it is an arroyo, gully, ditch or not. We stayed in a campground this past weekend just outside Buena Vista CO. There was a very serious storm Sat evening about 7pm. While there is a couple of washes in the campground and the roads that went through them got washed out. There was a surprising amount of damage in areas you would have thought would have been ok at first glance. While no one was hurt and no rvs floated away there were certainly a few that weren't going to move away very easily. I saw two travel trailers that their front tongue jack had been washed out so far that the front of the A frame was resting on the ground. A chevy truck with the front bumper almost resting on the ground maybe 2 inches of clearance. Another trailer that the entry steps were resting on the ground. We were in a pull through site and had to back out of it as the road in the front was severely washed out on the far side to the point that there was no way I was going to be able to make the wide turn without dropping off into the washed out portion. The road behind us was fine where we were at but up about 150 feet there was a 2 foot deep gully that had been washed out of it. For a while there were areas where you could not exit until they filled in the washed out areas. The campground owner was out immediately with a tractor filling in those areas so people could at least get out of the campground. He was out until about midnight then at it again first thing in the morning.

Here's why you need to be aware of where you are and what the weather upstream is like.
flash flood, no warning