Ajo cleans up after storms
Reporter: Craig Smith
AJO, Ariz (KGUN9-TV) - Well to the west, the storms made life tougher for the people of Ajo yesterday.
In the heart of Ajo, state highway workers had to use heavy equipment to clear deep sand heavy rains pushed to the edge of the town square.
If you look closely at streets leading towards the town square you can see there is a slope that runs all the way down and can funnel rainwater right to this intersection at the center of Ajo.
Ajo resident Paul Vasquez says just under five inches of water fell in about four hours. The storm put about two inches of water in a neighbor's house, and knocked out the power until about eight in the morning.
Vasquez says, "Our house is total electric. So our dinner consisted of cold meatloaf sandwiches and this morning I had to go to a store and buy some breakfast because we couldn't cook."
At Desert Sanita Community Health Center, Jane Canon said, "I've been here 11 years and not seen so much rain all at once.
Canon says when the power went out the clinic kept caring for patients anyway.
She says, "Being so rural we are used to just working with whatever happens out here."
KGUN9 reporter Craig Smith said: "So you still managed to see the patients. That's interesting."
Canon: "Yes we did. Usually when you have a power outage it is as hot at home as it is here but people need to be seen and we certainly stay and see them at least with a skeleton crew."
Ajo schools were closed for lack of electricity. When the power came on about 8AM, they stayed closed anyway.
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