MESA, AZ — The interior of Red Mountain High School is much drier by Thursday, but the damage left behind tells the story of what Wednesday afternoon delivered.
Mesa Public Schools leaders say the building took on almost 3 inches of rain in less than 2 hours during a monsoon storm.
The lower level of the high school sustained heavy damage, with the cafeteria and classrooms hit the hardest. Drywall will need replacing, and carpet that soaked up too much water will also have to go.
Mike Kramer, the district's director of operations, described what crews found when they arrived.
"This entire area was under two-to-three inches of water," Kramer said.
The damage was not immediately obvious at first glance.
"The immediate reaction was that someone had just cleaned the floors because they were very shiny. It was actually the reflection of the water," Kramer said.
Classes sat in darkness Wednesday afternoon. Power went out across East Mesa, and the building's 38-year-old backup generator failed.
For Kramer, the scale of the damage stands out in his career.
"I'd say this is among the top five losses in my career," Kramer said.
Kramer says the cleanup may need to run around the clock. Spray Systems, an outside company, was brought in to help lead part of that effort. Jaime Barazza with Spray Systems described what the building looked like when crews arrived.
"All the hallways were all flooded. There were probably about two inches of water, and it trickled in here on this carpeted area," Barazza said.
Kramer also says 8 other schools in the district took on damage from the storm, but nothing to the degree seen at Red Mountain High School. A timeline for when the cleanup will be finished has not yet been determined.
