Camp Verde flood damage: Resident loses dream home to historic river flooding

CAMP VERDE, Ariz. - People living in Camp Verde are having to spend money on costly repairs after the Verde River flooded and devastated their homes. One resident saw his newly paid-off dream home destroyed and is now facing the journey to rebuild.

Devastating Floods:

Resident Pat Phillips explained that he had never seen the river spill onto his property before. The water destroyed his fence, and parts of vehicles even floated onto his land. In the 20 years he has lived there, he said he has never seen flooding of this scale.

"This is how full the water was in my house," Phillips said, pointing to the bottom of his front door.

"This Was Our Dream":

As he looks at the damage inside the home he just paid off, Phillips reflects on the labor and dedication that went into creating his forever home.

"It took about six guys two days to get that out of our house, and it’s about three, four inches thick," Phillips said, referring to the mud.

Surveying the destruction, Phillips sees the hard work he put into building the home.

"This is how it makes me feel. I mean, this was our dream," Phillips said, tears visible in his eyes.

Phillips said he had just finished remodeling several areas inside the residence.

"What’s sad, I just finished this closet. I just finished it three weeks ago," Phillips said. "I just got the elliptical. You can see the waterline on the wall and the cabinets."

Damaged Valuables:

Many items ruined by the floodwaters held deep sentimental value.

"You know what’s really sad? This was my childhood dresser when I was a kid, and I kept it all my life," Phillips said.

Starting Over:

Now, he is forced to tear up his house even further to complete remediation and repairs.

"Within the second day, we already had mold growing in here," Phillips said.

"Home Away From Home":

In the meantime, he has been living inside his camper.

"So we cleaned it out and that’s our new home away from home, and we pretty much are homeless," Phillips said.

Animals Impacted:

The flooding in Camp Verde also endangered his animals.

"This is how high it was, and it took my chickens right off their roost. I couldn’t get them out of here fast enough," Phillips said. "My horses were in waist…I was out there in waist water trying to get my horses out of there."

Floodwaters also washed away massive chunks of his pasture, leaving the cattle he raises without grass to feed on.

"That’s about what? 25, 30 foot drop. This was flat land," Phillips said. "Instead of having like 15 or 20 cows like I had, I’ll have four or five, because that’s all the property I have left."

Neighbors Step In:

Through it all, Phillips said neighbors have been stepping up to help one another navigate the aftermath.

"It’s been nice to see the community help each other, and all of the neighbors, we’re probably tighter than we’ve ever been," Phillips said.

What you can do:

A GoFundMe was created for Pat and Karen Phillips to help cover the costs of cleanup tools, fees and repairs to their home. 

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