Central Agency responding to residents stranded by snow storms

Arizona, Apache County and Navajo Nation emergency personnel met at the Chinle Chapter House Monday to set up an incident command post to deal with the aftermath of last weekend's snowstorm.

Meanwhile, community health representatives and Navajo Nation Police officers continued to check on stranded Central Agency residents, deliver food and medicine and transport those in need of medical care.

The search continued for a Red Valley man, 44-year-old Freddie Nakai, who left his home Wednesday night and never returned. He is believed to be somewhere around Lukachukai.

Incident management team leader Gary Cordes of the Arizona Department of Emergency Management said the command post will coordinate all available manpower and resources.

"We don't want to duplicate and we don't want to skip over anybody," he said.

But an obviously frustrated Apache County Sheriff's deputy, André Leonard, said communication with the state already seemed to be garbled.

"I thought we were going to have a helicopter out here yesterday," he said. "Where's the helicopter?"

Cordes said the Arizona National Guard had offered to dispatch two helicopters for the whole Navajo Nation.

"I'd love to concentrate the resources up here, but we have to think about everybody," he said.

"I've got a man who's been missing for four days," Leonard said. "A helicopter would have been real helpful."

According to Leonard, snowdrifts three to five feet high have hampered search efforts in the Chuskas where Nakai is believed to be.

Elvira Martin of Chinle's Community Health Representative Program said her main concern is evacuating stranded elders who have missed their dialysis and cardiac care appointments.

"I've got a patient who missed a cardiac appointment in Flagstaff Friday," she said.

Navajo Nation Police Lt. Emmett Yazzie of the Chinle District did not attend the meeting, but said Monday morning he had his hands full keeping track of his own officers.

"We're sending out four-wheel-drive units with chains and they're still getting stuck," he said, noting that about two feet of snow fell in the Black Mesa area and by Monday was melting into soupy bogs.

"We sent a tow truck after one vehicle and it got stuck too," he said. "We had to call in a road grader from Apache County to tow the tow truck."

Yazzie said his officers were rising to the occasion, however.

"They're walking in and giving people piggyback rides if they have to," he said.

Donations of food and medicine were coming in from as far away as Phoenix, and Navajo Agricultural Products Industry came through with 2.4 tons of food for people and livestock at greatly reduced prices, but the problem was getting them to the needy.

Chinle Chapter Coordinator Leo R. Begay said Canyon de Chelly National Monument had volunteered two six-wheel trucks to the effort.

"They work pretty well in this stuff," he said. "They've had to tow each other out a couple of times."

Chapter staff had opened the chapter house around the clock over the weekend to provide sleeping space for stranded motorists, but so far few people have taken that option, he said. The chapter was also cooking meals for rescue personnel.

Begay said the chapter has been overwhelmed with requests for food, fuel and hay and said the chapter's limited resources are being reserved for people stranded in the remotest and hardest-hit areas.

"If you live on a paved road and can drive yourself in here, we're probably not going to give you anything," he said.

Chinle Unified School District closed schools Friday, Monday and Tuesday.

Piñon Chapter was taking care of people in its area and in remote Forest Lake Chapter. Piñon Unified School District closed its schools all week.

Council Delegate Amos Johnson (Black Mesa/Rough Rock/Forest Lake) e-mailed from the council floor that legislation appropriating $1 million to the chapters for further relief efforts was being considered today (Monday), but would need to go through two standing committees. It could be approved by the end of the week. The council is meeting this week in its winter session.

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