Arizona republican., 1918-08-07
TWIN CLOUDBURSTS DESTROY PROPERTY
 IN HEART IF RAY
Especial to The Republican,

RAY, Ariz., Aug. 6.-The town of Ray had a narrow escape this morning from twin cloudburst that tore down the channel of Mineral creek from the near slopes of the Pinal mountains There had been 8 drenching rain, though probably light here to what it was further up the creek. At S:30 O clock there came a wall of water five feet high, that bore cattle and burros on it's crest, yet failed to reach the level of the towns main street. At 10 o'clock, however, there was another rise of five feet, that came to it's high est point within half hour and that made a lake of most of the townsite on the eastern side of the creek It reached to the Ray Con. hotel and to the edge of the Episcopal church plot on the northWard and to the Ray Con- solidated offices on the south, inci- dentally doing damage roughly esti- mated at s50,000.
 Saves s5o,ooo in Goods 1 Opposite the hotel, the Miller Mer- cantile company saved $50,000 worth of goods in it's basement by building l a strong wall of sandbags, buL the 1 Steinfeld company of Tucson, which 1 had a wholesale branch on the oppo- 1 site side of the street. was not so l fortunate. losing about s30000 in goods | damaged by water that surged into it's establishment from the rear. Next be- l low was the big garage of the Ray Motor company, flooded deeply, with damage estimated at s4,000 while sl,000 damage was done to the Sun shine billiard hall Mauk's theater and the town hall suffered slightly, on 1 the eastern side of the street where m ia ,,1 va n-ac fo tho pffipoc If the Ray Hercules Copper company. which were in several frame structures under the bluff, yet only a few feet above the banks of the creek. The company is believed to have lost about i E 000. but its office force by quick work managed to save all books and dra wings, which were hurried up the hill
 Tanks Washed Away
 i Two large tanks Of fuel oil were washed away. property of the Hercules company.
 l The Ray Hercules bridge lately completed across the creek, was in danger at the highest water. but was kept clear of debris by men with poles and stands unharmed. Up stream, the new wagon bridge went through the flood with only the cracking of one 1 pier. The Ray ana Glia Ndlley rall- road bridge below town was not dam aged. though several hundred feet of track went out along the creek. Nei- ther was any damage done the rail road yards, on the western side. where the water was not high enough to flood any of the Ray Consolidated mining work This company had no loss whatever.
 Miners Rush to Homes
 Further up the creek. Nose Davis a colored bootblack. lost s1.200 in the sweeping away of three small houses
 Mrs. Fred Bingham lost $500 and the Crane boarding house $500. Miss Mary Burkhart. telephone operator. was sleeping in the latter house when its end fell into the flood, but she managed
 in time to save her life by a marrow
 margin.
 Hundreds of miners were released
 from work to hurry to their imperiled
 homes. while hundreds more were util-
 zed in piling up dirt and sandbas dams against the rising water in the
 main part of the camp. The water
 this evening is far below the danger
 point. yet there is lively apprehension
 of further trouble till the clouds clea!
 away from the mountains.