ST. JOHNS, AZ — Jessenia Mireles and her family were excited about reopening Betty's Bakery on W. Cleveland Street in St. Johns, serving classic Mexican pastries and meals.
On July 27, however, Jessenia and the more than 3,000 residents of St. Johns witnessed one of the worst monsoon storms they’d ever seen.
"I was going to a birthday party; we were about to hit the piñata, and it started raining," Mireles stated. "It just got progressively worse."
The storm, according to the National Weather Service in Flagstaff, dropped more than three inches of rain in parts of the town, causing Cleveland Street to be submerged with water and mud, including Jessenia's business. The damage may likely exceed $20,000, she told ABC15.
St. Johns City Councilwoman Mandi Huth was also in town when the storm hit, witnessing the rising floodwaters and losing power to her home for a couple of hours.
She also witnessed the "Town of Friendly Neighbors" helping their neighbors during and after the storm.
"They showed up for businesses, homeowners that were flooded, and helped them clean up the damage," Huth told ABC15. "There were 6,500 sandbags filled by volunteers. Water showed up, food showed up, people were being taken care of and taking care of each other."
Huth said that St. Johns and Apache County officials are going through the process of getting assistance from the state.
