Courtesy Photo | U.S. Army Yuma Proving (YPG) was inundated by a major monsoon in the overnight hours...... read more read more
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U.S. Army Yuma Proving (YPG) was inundated by a major monsoon in the overnight hours of Sept. 4.
The post’s Walker Cantonment Area (WCA) received more than two inches of rain and was buffeted by 60 mile per hour wind gusts over the course of about an hour.
In comparison, Yuma’s typical annual rainfall is approximately three inches. The major deluge did extensive damage to roads across the proving ground, which is larger in land area than the state of Rhode Island.
“It was a lot of rain in a very short period of time,” said Mark Hendrickson, lead meteorologist. “We got almost our average annual rain in an hour or two. It is for sure the most significant downpour in my 17 years here.”
In the immediate aftermath of the monsoon, YPG’s Police and Fire Departments were assisting a stranded motorist, barricading flooded roadways, and assessing damage. Running washes across YPG’s vast ranges reached measured heights of up to 38 inches, and improved and unimproved roads across the post took a beating. The most publicly noticeable washout was Imperial Dam Road, which became impassable to traffic between the Walker and Howard Cantonment Area (HCA) access points. Officials anticipate the road will be unavailable until at least next week due to extremely saturated ground that could still produce sinkholes.
“We have to beware of compaction issues undermining the road,” said Donnett Brown, YPG Department of Public Works Chief. “This storm was severe. The Howard and Walker Cantonment Areas and Imperial Dam Road took the brunt of the damage.”
Currently, the only way to access HCA from Highway 95 is through the Laguna Army Airfield Gate during its regular hours, or via the WCA gate, which is being staffed 24 hours per day for the duration of the closure.
Though much of YPG’s mission workforce was not scheduled to work on the following day after the storm thanks to the post’s decades-old regular work schedule of four ten-hour days per week, testing downrange was still scheduled to occur on Friday morning.
“The base ops heavy equipment workers are the real heroes right now,” said Brown. “They were working from Thursday night throughout the weekend, starting with roads on the range to accommodate testing.”
The impacts were keenly felt by personnel and family members who live on post. Except for the post’s fitness center, all Family Morale Welfare and Recreation (FMWR) facilities were closed on Friday, Sept. 5 to allow for assessment and recovery of the storm damage. The post swimming pool was closed for one day due to pH levels being out of adjustment following the storm. The common building for the Desert Breeze Travel Camp was the worst affected building and will likely remain closed for many weeks.
“We had some immediate closures that had to take place over the weekend to clear out water, repair damage, and make sure the facilities were safe to reopen,” said Chris Reitman, FMWR Director. “The travel camp common area sustained some serious issues and challenges with flooding, and that building will remain closed for some time.”
Reitman assures activities that typically take place in the building will be relocated to other places on post, such as the Palm Garden Event Center, and that the travel camp’s administrative office has been temporarily relocated to the nearby FMWR Building.
“We’re going to take a creative approach to try to fulfill the program needs,” said Reitman. “Spaces are still available to rent, only the common building is closed.”
Price School, the kindergarten through fifth grade elementary school operated on post by Yuma Elementary School District #1 was closed on Friday, along with three other district schools that sustained storm damage. The typical daily school bus routes from YPG to schools in town was also suspended for the day. The closures and recovery from damage largely preempted acknowledgement of an announcement heralding a years-in-the making $8 million federal grant to rebuild the current Price school building, which dates to 1959 and lacks a kitchen to prepare hot lunches for students, among other modern amenities.
By Monday morning, downed trees and limbs and debris had been removed from the populated areas of the post, with only a thin coating of mud on sections of streets.
“Our folks’ immediate and follow-on responses were spot on,” said Kenneth Musselwhite, YPG Garrison Manager. “Their work, from assisting stranded motorists, closing roads, and redirecting traffic early in the storm, to quickly assessing the damage and beginning repairs afterwards, shows their professionalism and dedication to keeping the YPG community safe.”
| Date Taken: | 09.08.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.08.2025 16:16 |
| Story ID: | 547574 |
| Location: | YUMA PROVING GROUND, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 428 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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