Governor declares state of emergency in Hila County after deadly flooding

The governor declared a state of emergency for Hila County on the day of the briefing, saying heavy rain and "catastrophic flooding have decimated homes, destroyed businesses, and most tragically taken lives." The declaration directs state resources to search-and-rescue, cleanup and recovery operations, the governor said.

The governor said the state has "unleashed the full force of state government" to support affected communities including Globe, Miami, Clayool and the San Carlos Apache tribe, and urged residents to stay clear of flooded areas and follow local guidance. The governor added that the administration has been coordinating with the San Carlos Apache tribe under the state mutual aid compact.

Officials said the state emergency operations center has been activated at Level One with 24-hour staffing from 20 agencies and more than 45 personnel. The joint information center was activated to coordinate public information, and state liaison officers were deployed to support Hila County's emergency operations center.

Search-and-rescue operations are under way. The governor said more than 70 personnel from the Department of Public Safety and six county sheriff's offices are engaged in search and rescue, supported by Ranger and drone assets; the Arizona National Guard has been authorized to support efforts "as necessary" and is on standby.

State agencies are addressing related hazards: the Arizona Department of Agriculture is assessing reports of missing and deceased livestock, six hazardous-materials teams from eight agencies (including mutual aid from California) are responding to hazmat incidents and debris, and more than 25 Arizona Department of Transportation staff and crews are working on road clearance. The Department of Public Safety also deployed a 13-member team to backfill law-enforcement duties and relieve increased call volumes at Hila County 911 centers.

The governor said her administration had been in contact with FEMA leadership, including acting administrator Richardson and Region 9 administrator Fenton, and that FEMA "will be prepared to assist as necessary." The governor also said she had personally spoken with Secretary Gnome, who expressed appreciation for the state's coordination with local first responders.

Brigadier General Con thanked the governor for issuing the emergency declaration and introduced Gabe Lavine, the state's emergency operations manager, who said the State Emergency Operations Center had been fully activated since Friday. Lavine outlined three operational priorities: refining impact assessments to understand conditions on the ground; ensuring timely, life‑saving response for immediate needs; and posturing support for recovery and connecting survivors with community partners and services.

Lavine said federal partners were beginning to arrive and more FEMA coordination was expected. He described the response as "locally led, state-managed, and federally supported." Officials then opened the briefing to questions.

Officials said specific additional assistance requests and the schedule for incoming federal resources would be provided as they are confirmed; several operational details (for example, timing and scale of National Guard deployments and exact counts of displaced households) were described as developing and not yet specified.

The briefing closed with an invitation for questions from reporters and further updates to be shared as agencies finalize assessments and resource requests.