The Brief
- An Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter rescued five young adults from a desert hilltop after Tropical Storm Rachel rains turned a dry wash into a raging torrent that swept away their broken-down Jeep.
- In a separate incident near Topock Lake, two men towing a boat trailer drove around road closure barricades and had to take refuge on a log between two running washes before crews helped them to safety.
- Mohave County authorities urged motorists to heed the state’s “Stupid Motorist Law,” which allows officials to bill drivers up to $2,000 in emergency response expenses if they deliberately bypass flood barricades.
MOHAVE COUNTY, Ariz. – Mohave County search and rescue crews carried out multiple swift-water rescues Sunday after torrential rains from Tropical Storm Rachel overwhelmed desert washes, sweeping away an SUV and leaving stranded drivers clinging to hillsides and logs.
What we know:
The life-saving operations unfolded south of Lake Havasu City and near Topock, where sudden flash flooding trapped at least eight people in separate incidents, forcing an Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter to fly in from Phoenix to airlift a group of five stranded twenty-somethings whose vehicle was dragged away by raging waters.
Two close calls, hours apart
Timeline:…