Dale Doerr poses in front of a ditch at the south end of the Hidden Valley Park, which for a while became a level field of rocks. Photo by Laurel Busch shared with Our Town Reno
Piles of rocks, debris, sandbags, destroyed landscaping, fences, decks, yards and crawl spaces buried in mud, a closed regional park and brownish ponds everywhere are constant reminders for Hidden Valley residents of the pernicious July 21st flash floods.
The mud and rock slides followed 1.3 inches of rain being dumped in the area in just three quarters of an hour. Yearly, by comparison, Reno averages just a little under 7.5 inches of rainfall.
At a community meeting last week, dozens of residents shared their struggles, many frustrated and angry, with some blaming the county for not properly maintaining ditches and culverts in the park above the neighborhood. Others said they should have gotten some sort of advance warning for this freak occurrence.
Photos above by Mark Maynard of current conditions in different parts of Hidden Valley shared with Our Town Reno
"We are prepared for these things to happen. They're unfortunate when they happen. This was localized to a small community. I think every single one of those homeowners that was impacted, this is an emergency to them, and so we took that very seriously," Assistant County Manager Dave Solaro responded after hearing some of the complaints.
In terms of the general area, Washoe County says Community Services Department crews deployed after the flooding, working 12-hour shifts, cleared about 16-thousand cubic yards of debris or about 600 truckloads.
Photo above shared with Our Town Reno by Laurel Busch.
“We know that it will take time to repair all of the damage, but our number one priority is safety and accessibility, and we are grateful that there were no injuries in this flood event,” CSD Director Eric Crump said.
The regional park where over 10-thousand cubic yards of mud and debris have been removed is scheduled to reopen in stages, with limited park access first, possibly this coming week, followed with the dog park, tennis courts, playgrounds and bathrooms.
Above photos sent to Our Town Reno by Laurel Busch showing the impact of last month’s flash flooding in different parts of Hidden Valley.
Laurel Busch, who went around the neighborhood and took pictures for Our Town Reno, while collecting testimonies, says the worst hit street appears to have been Mia Vista Drive.
Many of the homeowners in this area are elderly and on fixed incomes, she says, without any flood insurance, facing huge tabs to repair the damage their homes endured and not knowing where to turn for financial assistance.
The mud dries into a solid substance that cannot be shoveled without re-wetting it, she indicated, making it all feel like a Herculean task for Hidden Valley to feel and look like normal again.