Event narrative (NOAA)
A strong thunderstorm produced heavy rain over southern portions of the Bush Fire burn scar during the evening of the 22nd. Heavy rainfall associated with the thunderstorm led to an estimated 1-2 of rain within 20-30 minutes over the headwaters of the Alder Creek basin, resulting in a flash flood with debris coming down Alder Creek. A group of people camping at the foot of Alder Creek on the north shore of Apache Lake attempted to flee the area by boat as the flash flood approached. The flash flood with debris caused an inoperable boat carrying five adults to capsize. Three out of the five adults were rescued out of the water by another boat. The other two adults, a 41 year old female and a 52 year old male, died as a result of drowning and were recovered by Maricopa County Sheriff's Offic
Other notable flash flood events in Arizona
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database. Deaths and injuries are those NOAA classifies as direct. Damage is the reporting office's estimate at the time and is not inflation-adjusted. This is a catalogue record, not a forecast.