San Tan Valley farm flooded by severe storms
San Tan Valley farm, Hayden Acres, flooded
San Tan Valley farm, Hayden Acres, is cleaning up after floodwaters swept across the property. Neighbors are donating supplies and labor to help. FOX 10's Jacob Luthi reports.
SAN TAN VALLEY, Ariz. - A San Tan Valley farm that provides equine therapy, horse riding lessons, and hosts a school for children is cleaning up after floodwaters swept across the property Wednesday, Sept. 16, leaving the ranch facing a long road to recovery.
Community members are already stepping in to help.
What we know:
Photos show water covering nearly the entire property and, in some spots, rising more than three feet. Crews worked to move the animals to higher, drier ground.
Nicole Waters runs the Sunshine Integrative Farm Micro-School on the property.
"Everything’s shut down," Waters said. "It can be very, very difficult for the horses. They can get sick. The other ones will get yeast issues ... and, as you can see, they don’t want to stand in it."
The ranch is owned by Joshua and Tiffany Hill. In addition to boarding animals, they run Majors Brigade, an equine therapy program for veterans and first responders.
Severe storms inundated Hayden Acres with up to 3 feet of water, forcing the San Tan Valley farm to suspend operations and evacuate its animals to higher ground. The farm now faces an extensive cleanup process.
What they're saying:
When neighbors saw how much the farm was struggling, they jumped into action. One person offered his tractor to help move dirt.
"Some people were donating supplies, like through a QR code, and some saying, ‘I can’t donate anything, but I can come work,'" Waters said. "...it was just mind-blowing what the community brought forward."
The rain may have stopped, but the cleanup is far from over. Without pumps, some areas could take weeks to drain.
"We can then use the wood chips and the fill dirt to fill it back up again because it sinks — so there’s still this to come," Waters said.
Waters says she is looking forward to welcoming students back, and that is possible thanks to the community helping get the farm back on its feet.
"I was kind of overwhelmed by the community support and just how people were coming together and reaching out," she said. "It just restores your faith in humanity."
What you can do:
The farm is still seeking donations for feed and care supplies, as well as volunteers to help clean up horse stalls.
Information about Hayden Acres can be found here. Information for Sunshine Integrative Micro-School can be found here.