We’re all like a happy family on a late summer day, splashing about in the clear, cool waters of the East Verde River – in the narrows of Water Wheel.
The water’s making a soothing sound. The winds rustling through the trees. Trout dart in the pools. An eagle circles overhead. What could possibly go wrong on such a beautiful day?
Except just upstream, the steep slopes on the face of the Rim have barely stopped smoldering after the fierce passage of the Highline Fire. Just above the Rim, a sullen black slug of monsoon clouds has gathered. Back in July of 2017, those clouds opened up and dropped several inches of rain on the seared slopes. The storm unleashed a debris flow – which swept down Ellison Creek and into the East Verde.