Monsoon storm damages Mesa cemetery

MESA, Ariz. (KSAZ) - Last night's storm left behind a significant amount of damage inside a Mesa cemetery.

A grounds crew tells us over 70 Cypress trees have blown over or have been completely ripped out of the ground.

The damage is so extensive, it's been decades since the City of Mesa Cemetery has seen anything like it.

"It's crazy because in 2004 there was a big microburst and we lost 120 trees and then to see this, it's quite scary to see all these trees are falling like this," Rick Fifield said.

Fifield says he and some of his staff were still on site as the storm started to pass through, and as winds picked up, he was shocked at the number of visitors who were still there.

"I was trying to get people out of here because of the safety issues and stuff," he said.

Seventy trees are down and counting. Clean up crews even brought in a backup order to get the cemetery back in shape.

"We're not sure the cost of what this cleanup is going to be, but all over the city we have parks, other trees down, and a lot of facilities that have had significant damage," Steve Wright said.

In the meantime, the cemetery's gates will be closed for at least three to four days, while hopefully, another storm like this one can hold off.