Birdsprings families evacuated
Many Navajo Nation roads are impassable

By Karen Francis
Diné Bureau

BIRDSPRINGS, Ariz. — On Monday night, 14 families from the Birdsprings Chapter in southwest Navajo were evacuated to motels in Winslow because of flooding from the Little Colorado River.

Earlier Monday, the Commission on Emergency Management declared a state of emergency for all of the Navajo reservation and warned residents who live along the Little Colorado River to be on flood alert.

Navajo Nation police are trying to keep people out of the Leupp area because the river’s water level is running extremely high.

Selena Manychildren, public information officer for the Division of Health Bio-Terrorism Preparedness Program, said that Navajo County managers, Navajo Police Dept. and Public Works did a visual on-site assessment of the river. Trucks will be carrying 25 tons of rock and gravel over the next five days at seven loads per day to begin stabilizing Navajo Route 2 along the Little Colorado River.

She added that other road stabilization activities will be carried out at Hardrock and Piñon.

On Wednesday, Navajo Nation employees were released at 3 p.m. and a two-hour delay is in effect for Thursday, Manychildren said.

According to Manychildren, the muddy conditions because of the recent storm create life-threatening situations for people who are in need of daily medical attention, people who are on medication, the elderly and infants.

The conditions around the entire reservation have become so bad that the Navajo Nation Council, which is in session this week, appropriated emergency funds in the amount of $8.535 million — $25,000 for each of the nation’s 110 chapters.

The funds are not yet at the chapters as the appropriation still goes to the president, who has up to 10 days to act or not act on it.

According to the Council speaker’s office, a directive was unanimously made by the Council to Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Controller Mark Grant and the Office of Management and Budget to issue checks to chapters for the emergency funding.

Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan, Iyanbito/Pinedale, released a statement Wednesday urging the chapters to answer to constituent needs with the funds.

“Chapter officials should be available to the Navajo people at all times. Chapter and community services should not only be rendered between the hours of eight to five.

Chapter officials should be available after-hours as well in order to assist our people with emergency services, especially during this time,” Speaker Morgan said.

He added that many residents living in outlying areas rely heavily on local government services.

The incident commander for the Emergency Operation Center in Window Rock, Jimson Joe, also encouraged cooperation and requested that each chapter use the emergency funds to work with their community.

He said that all calls for assistance must go through the chapter first and from there it will be forwarded to EOC.

Tony McCabe, a maintenance worker for Birdsprings Chapter, was one of the workers out at the Little Colorado River helping out with the different agencies that were monitoring water levels.

He said that families are continuing to be evacuated and the chapter’s secretary and community services coordinator were helping those families on Wednesday afternoon.

He also said that the roads in Birdsprings were impassable.

“The water is all the way up to the bridge,” he said.
Wednesday evening it was still snowing intermittently in Birdsprings and officials were unsure of what the next day would bring.

On the eastern side of the Navajo Nation, the Emergency Operation Center in Crownpoint began working with chapters on Wednesday, according to Manychildren. The Navajo Department of Emergency Management has two Emergency Operation Centers on the Navajo Nation, with the other in Window Rock.

The Crownpoint EOC Incident Commander Johnny Johnson said there are several chapters that needed immediate assistance, including Pinedale, located east of Churchrock, and Twin Lakes, located along U.S. Highway 491 north of Gallup.

Johnson reported that assessments were conducted Wednesday and deliveries of wood, food and water were carried out for families in need.

In Pinedale, the main problem is with the roads, especially because most residents live on unpaved roads since there is only one paved road that runs through the community.

“The main problems right now are transportation and fuel,” Pinedale Chapter Vice President Anselm Morgan said Wednesday evening.

Morgan was out in the community with the grader and operator provided by the Navajo Department of Transportation all day on Wednesday. While they attempted to grade the roads, the snow drift hampered their efforts.

“We grade the roads but it seems like the wind backs everything back up. It’s really a wasted effort,” he said.
Morgan said that they cleared about 20 miles and were hoping that more snow would not accumulate through the night.

In some areas, there are puddles of water under snow, which caused Morgan to say, “It’s the first time I’ve seen something like this.”

He said that some people in the community are stranded because of the impassable roads.

“We had people walking out to meet us,” he said of those who are stranded.

Morgan added that about half of those who are stranded need medication or have physical impairments that require regular doctor visits.

On Wednesday evening, the EOC personnel were working on compiling information for the Navajo Nation’s division director’s meeting scheduled for today.