Rillito River Rescue Made As Tucson Area Floods

TUCSON, AZ — A man was rescued from the Rillito River near Tucson Thursday as thunderstorms and a flooding hit the area. The Pima County Sheriff's Department called Thursday's excessive rain a "monsoon" while announcing a number of earlier road closures. Lanes were closed on a number of larger highways, including Interstate 10.

Tucson firefighters said the river rescue was one of the multiple swift water rescues the fire department and other agencies responded to in the late morning or early afternoon hours Thursday, the Tucson Fire Department said on Twitter. One of them was just north of the Tucson Mall, a video shared by officials on social media shows.

Multiple agencies just rescued a man out of the Rillito River #swiftwaterrescue #TFD #GRFD #NWFD pic.twitter.com/xMw1YYOLBl
— Tucson Fire Department (@TucsonFireDept) July 23, 2020

In a separate incident on Fort Lowell Road, Tucson Fire Department Deputy Chief Chris Conger was seen helping an elderly man who became stranded on a road to dry land. Water on the road the man became stranded on appeared to be knee-high.

Flood advisories were in effect in Pima County for much of the day, with thunderstorm warning having been issued to other Arizona counties as well.