Reservation state of emergency
Snow, rain, mud wreak havoc

By Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — Pummeled by snow storms, and rain storms in recent weeks, the Navajo Nation has declared a state of emergency joining its three Arizona counties and the state's governor in issuing similar declarations.

With the declarations, each of the five governments can marshal all its workers, their equipment and supplies for life-saving and disaster relief, offering assistance to the others in a humongous mutual aid program.

President Joe Shirley Jr. signed the declaration issued Friday afternoon by the five-member Emergency Management Commission when he returned from a flight to Tuba City for the Western Agency's inaugurations of chapter level officials for their four-year terms.

Division directors were scheduled to meet late Friday afternoon to receive their assignments which workers, equipment and buildings will be used, especially in the Dilkon and Chinle police precincts which bore the brunt of the end-of-the-year flooding when rains melted snow causing sticky mud.

Emergency management workers also have set up a command post in the Public Safety Division headquarters in Window Rock.

Hardest hit last week were the Bird Springs and Leupp Chapters in the southwest corner of the reservation and the Tachee-Blue Gap Chapter southwest of Chinle.

Officials worried
With the series of storms continuing to roll over the countryside with only a day or two between each blast, tribal, county, state and federal officials are worried that the repeated hammering of the environment will result in the loss of life none as of Friday afternoon. Assessments of the damages have yet to be made because they would not give true cost estimates until the storms are finished ravaging the land and its people.

The declaration, which will remain in effect until the commission cancels it, says "The Navajo Nation has suffered hardship due to heavy rain-snow and snow melt conditions, causing extensive damage and immediate threat to lives; numerous roads have been closed and are impassable, causing hardship to stranded motorist(s) and resident(s); there is insufficient and inadequate vehicles for gaining access; low level of available food supplies, medical supplies and other life-supporting supplies, and numerous requests are coming in for emergency assistance, including feed for livestock."

Schools, including Head Starts, and senior citizens programs, as well as transportation services to the groups also have been hampered, the declaration adds.

Most impacted, the declaration says, are the people in remote and isolated areas blocking "private access roads to their homes, which prevents them from (having) access to medical services, food, water and other basic necessities to maintain their lives."

The tribe's declaration also thanks all the agencies "who are providing their assistance with the current state of emergency."

Captain Randy John, Law Enforcement Department acting chief, sent orders Wednesday to all seven precinct commanders to assess the situations in their districts. Dilkon and Chinle were most affected. He also said Friday that there is a standard operation procedure (SOP) for each district to have five officers on stand-by status for temporary duty, if needed.

Saving reserves
"We are not committing our reserves until needed because once activated we don't know how long we will need to keep them in the field," he explained.

This would provide about a dozen extra officers each to the Dilkon and Chinle patrol regions, if needed, provided the Tuba City and Kayenta police districts remain in relatively good condition.

Lt. Ronnie Wauneka, the department's highest-ranking woman officer who is Dilkon's commander and a former number two in the neighboring Chinle precinct, submitted detailed reports of the events which began the night of Dec. 28.

The new bridge on BIA Navajo Region Route 71 over the Little Colorado River, despite rumors to the contrary, still stands. She said it was not usable part of the time because of the muddy road. And Route 2 on the south side of the river was washed out about 2-3 miles north of the junction of 2 and 71 at a location known as "Dead Man's Curve."

Another main worry was that a half-dozen large pipe culverts on Route 6830, which is part of the same network, would be plugged with sand. But, she said, the BIA Roads Department kept the debris cleared out enough to save the crossing in the sandy and fairly level area.

Wauneka also said the river rose up to 15 feet, then subsided.

Families evacuated
In all, 7 of 17 families being monitored had to be evacuated. Those who remained or returned were receiving visits early in the morning, while the ground was still solid. The Community Health Representatives, the popularly "CHRs," received the highest of praise from both Wauneka and John.

Sergeant Dean Hadley of the Chinle precinct said calls for assistance have been coming in the past two days, with the road to Blue Gap open but impassable due to heavy mud flows.

Hadley said assessments gathered Friday morning were to be evaluated by 5 p.m.

"As calls come in, we're sending somebody out to make an assessment of what's at the highest risk, including livestock," he said. Officers remain on 8-hour shifts, he added.

Johnny Johnson, the Emergency Management Department's acting manager, said people should telephone or contact their police station, which will relay requests to the emergency operations center, if more than local resources are needed.

In her report, Wauneka noted the Leupp Chapter's emergency response team's performance, with assistance of everyone in the community, such as the schools and local store, along with help from the Coconino and Navajo County Sheriff's Offices, Police Chief Steven Garnett and staff of the Winslow Police Department, and the Arizona Transportation Department.

She also has a detailed matrix list of the families in the most flood-prone areas, with 11 at home totaling 40 people. Six families were staying (usually with relatives) in Winslow, Flagstaff and Phoenix. Almost all of the 11 are listed as needing food, about half needing wood for heating and cooking, and two needing water. The list also includes if they have a vehicle (and what type), telephone and electricity.

Only two have livestock, according to her list.

— To contact reporter Jim Maniaci, telephone (505) 371-5443.