The voluntary evacuation of Clifton is over. The Town of Clifton lifted its evacuation notice early on Monday — the town put the time at about 5:30 a.m. — after the National Water Prediction Service reported that the San Francisco River had peaked in Clifton and water levels were receding. The notice had covered North Clifton, Park Avenue and the North Clifton RV Park, and the flood warnings for the river were cancelled with it. The river gauge at Clifton has since fallen to about 20 feet, below the 24-foot flood stage, and public safety personnel are continuing to monitor water levels over the next few hours.
The order went out on Sunday night as the river rose rapidly through the town. The Greenlee County Sheriff's Office issued the voluntary evacuation, and Sheriff Eric Ellison spoke to residents directly in a public address, telling anyone in Clifton to get a bag, get their belongings packed and leave, because water was expected to come over the bridge at about 3 a.m.
The National Weather Service in Tucson had a flood warning in force for the San Francisco River at Clifton. The river stood at 22.0 feet — bankfull — at 9 p.m. on Sunday, and forecasters expected it to crest at 25.0 feet late that night, above flood stage. At 24 feet, the water approaches the bottom of the railroad bridge and the Highway 191 bridge is likely to close. The forecast crest was close to the 25.3-foot crest recorded in January 1993.
Crews closed the town's smaller floodgates as the water rose, and the massive main floodgates — the ones locals call the "Jurassic Park" gates — stood ready to be closed if the river reached the set thresholds, which would seal off access routes through the lower flood zone. The closures also threatened to leave workers at the Freeport-McMoRan Morenci operations stuck on the wrong side of the gates.
For residents who left, an emergency shelter was open overnight at the Greenlee County Fairgrounds in Duncan. People in low-lying areas along the river were urged to keep monitoring emergency updates, gather essential medications and documents, and stay off flooded roads. For the households that spent the night out of their homes, the lifted notice means they can return — with crews still watching the river in case the levels change.
📰 ProfiloPolitics Member News — choose your news, share it, earn credit: https://white-curlew-963569.hostingersite.com
Join ProfiloPolitics on Telegram
Get the news as it breaks — follow our Telegram channel for every story, first.
Follow @profilopoliticsnews