Sedona Flooding: Helicopter Crew Lifts Man and Dog From Roof
Rising waters near Oak Creek trapped residents for hours, forcing officials to order immediate evacuations in multiple Arizona communities on Sunday.
By Gabriela Ivanov ·
A helicopter crew in Sedona, Arizona, lifted a man and his dog from a rooftop on Sunday after floodwaters trapped the couple in their home. Alexander Dale and his wife, along with nine guests, spent approximately three hours waiting on the roof for rescue. The water rose quickly enough to force Dale to secure the animal before the aircraft arrived.
The family's home and several Airbnbs they manage sit directly next to the Oak Creek bed. Dale said the couple did not know where to go as the water levels climbed. "We didn’t know what to do. We couldn’t go anywhere," he said. When the helicopter arrived, the pilot expressed concern about lifting the dog because the crew lacked a standard K-9 harness.
Dale negotiated a solution to keep the pet. He told the pilot, "Well, we don’t have a harness for a K-9, so I don’t know if we can take him." Dale asked what they should do and decided to strap the dog to himself using three harnesses found in the home. "We put like three of them on him and strapped it all together," he recalled.
The pilot then lifted Dale and the dog in a single pass. Dale described the moment as a tense hold on the animal while suspended in the air. "I was sitting in this harness basically holding my dog, praying he doesn’t go anywhere," he said. The dog did not escape during the extraction.
Other residents in the area faced similar conditions. Cindy Wilmer, a schoolteacher living at Red Rock Crossing, evacuated with only the clothes on her back, her school keys, and her cat. She described the water as "roaring down the street" and expressed worry for the condition of her house. Fernando Leon, who also lives near Oak Creek, reported seeing the river through his front door. "I opened the door and I saw the river, and I said, 'Whoa, I need to get out of here,'" he said.
Officials ordered residents near the creek to leave immediately as the floodwaters trapped multiple people in their homes. By Sunday afternoon, the heavy rains had largely subsided in the Sedona area. Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs stated that state air rescue crews assisted with rooftop evacuations and transportation crews worked to clear debris. No injuries or deaths were reported immediately after the event.
