Localized torrential downpours Tuesday morning resulted in flooded washes in portions of Tucson and swift-water rescues.
More than an inch of rain fell in areas north and northeast of Tucson, said Lance Tripoli, a meteorological technician with the National Weather Service in Tucson.
“Some areas on the lower backside of Mount Lemmon had in excess of 3 inches of rainfall,” Tripoli said.
The weather service issued flash flood and urban and small stream flood advisories for the region throughout the morning.
Still, the heavy rains proved dangerous for some morning commuters.
Firefighters from Golder Ranch Fire District and Northwest Fire District rescued three people from a pickup truck stuck in the swollen Cañada del Oro wash at West Overton Road east of North La Cholla Boulevard.
Crews initially tried to extend an engine’s ladder to the truck, but rapid waters made the vehicle unstable and unsafe to get the occupants to safety.
Instead, a team of five rescuers waded through the water to get the occupants out of the flooded wash.
In the same wash, the driver of a second vehicle was able to escape from the wash without assistance, Golder Ranch said on its Twitter account.
Eventually, the water became so strong that both vehicles — now empty — were carried downstream.
Additionally, the Tucson Fire Department, along with help from Golder Ranch and Northwest pulled two people from a flooded wash south of West Prince and North Romero roads.
The two people were uninjured, but they had been swept away in the wash near Evergreen Cemetery more than a half-mile downstream.
Heavy rains are still possible in the Tucson area until Friday, and showers throughout the region are likely until next weekend, said Tripoli, of the weather service.
“The threat of heavy rain is always there and it’s going to be in place now, especially since our ground is saturated,” Tripoli said.
Recent damage from the last two monsoon seasons and scarring of vegetation left after large fires, like last year’s Bighorn Fire in the Santa Catalinas, can also add to that risk of flash flooding, Tripoli said.
“The obstructions to the water flow that, established, live vegetation would have created are gone now,” he said.
Golder Ranch and Northwest Fire Districts participated in swift water rescues at Overton Road and the Can͂ada del Oro wash just east of La Cholla Boulevard.
