Flagstaff details Spruce Wash flood fixes, warns wetter-than-normal monsoon; urges resident readiness

Flagstaff city staff told the City Council on May 27 that the city is in the final year of construction on a multi-project effort to reduce post‑fire flood risk in the Spruce Wash watershed and urged residents to prepare ahead of a monsoon season the National Weather Service expects to be warmer and wetter than normal.

The update matters because the Spruce Wash suite of projects — funded by a voter-approved bond and federal grants and paired with upstream county work — is intended to reduce runoff from burned slopes that caused damaging floods in 2021. City engineers said many elements will be in place before the heart of monsoon season, but some work will remain and residents should plan accordingly.

Scott Overton, Public Works director, told the council the city is in “our third and final year of delivery” for Spruce Wash and that staff are coordinating remaining construction, outreach and operational readiness with partner agencies. He said the project is complex and that members of the council would be invited to field tours so they could see what is finished and what remains.

Brian Klamowski, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service Flagstaff, gave the seasonal outlook. “We’re leaning toward a monsoon that is gonna be wetter than normal and warmer than normal,” Klamowski said. He said long‑term factors and recent winter dryness point to an…