2025-12-20T00:00:00-07:00
...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION FOR IN AND IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE FOOTHILLS, BETWEEN 5500 AND 9000 FEET, FOR BOULDER AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES ON FRIDAY... Strong west winds of 30-40 mph with gusts as high as 85 mph in the foothills of Boulder and northern Jefferson Counties will continue until early evening. Relative humidity values had dropped into the upper single digits and lower teens. Thus, the Particularly Dangerous Situation will remain in place til around 5-6 pm, with only a slow improvement thereafter as winds slowly weaken. Red Flag conditions, however, will persist through the rest of the evening as we remain in a near record warm, dry, and windy airmass along the Front Range through midnight. In fact, strong, gusty winds will persist through much of the night with only a slow improvement in humidity values. Thus, near critical Red Flag conditions will occur into early Saturday morning. While most of the Denver metro area has seen lighter winds prevail most of the day, a period of strong, gusty winds is expected to develop this evening and likely last past midnight, producing Red Flag conditions there. * AFFECTED AREA...Fire Weather Zones 238, 240, 241, 242 and 243. * TIMING...Until midnight MST tonight. * WINDS...West 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 50 mph. * RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 9 percent. * IMPACTS...Conditions will be favorable for rapid fire spread. Avoid outdoor burning and any activity that may produce a spark and start a wildfire.
Summary
Total streamflow across the
Agua Fria River
was last observed at
21
cfs, and is expected to yield approximately
41
acre-ft of water today; about 161%
of normal.
River levels are high.
Average streamflow for this time of year is
13 cfs,
with recent peaks last observed
on
2023-03-22 when daily discharge volume was observed at
9,485 cfs.
Maximum discharge along the river is currently at the
Agua Fria River Near Mayer
reporting a streamflow rate of 15.6 cfs.
However, the streamgauge with the highest stage along the river is the
Agua Fria River Near Humboldt
with a gauge stage of 3.38 ft.
This river is monitored from 3 different streamgauging stations along the Agua Fria River, the highest being situated at an altitude of 4,381 ft, the
Agua Fria River Near Humboldt.
River Details
| Last Updated | 2025-12-19 |
| Discharge Volume | 41 ACRE-FT |
| Streamflow |
20.79 cfs
+0.4 cfs (+1.96%) |
| Percent of Normal | 161.15% |
| Maximum |
9,485.0 cfs
2023-03-22 |
| Seasonal Avg | 13 cfs |
River Streamflow Levels
| Streamgauge | Streamflow | Gauge Stage | 24hr Change (%) | % Normal | Minimum (cfs) | Maximum (cfs) | Air Temp | Elevation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Agua Fria River Near Humboldt
USGS 09512450 |
5 cfs | 3.38 ft | 0 | |||||
|
Agua Fria River Near Mayer
USGS 09512500 |
16 cfs | 2.67 ft | 2.63 | |||||
|
Agua Fria River Near Rock Springs
USGS 09512800 |
2 cfs | 2.74 ft | -6.67 |
Seasonal Discharge Comparison
Maximum Streamflow Discharge
Streamflow Elevation Profile
The Agua Fria River is a 120-mile (190 km) long intermittent stream which flows generally south from 20 miles (32 km) east-northeast of Prescott in the U.S. state of Arizona. Prescott draws much of its municipal water supply from the upper Agua Fria drainage. The Agua Fria runs through the Agua Fria National Monument. The river then flows through a small canyon called "Black Canyon" into Lake Pleasant, a popular recreation area near Peoria, Arizona.
(There is a large "Black Canyon" on the Colorado River along the Arizona–Nevada border.)
During rainy weather and at times when water is flowing in the intermittent Agua Fria River, it discharges into the Gila River, which also only flows during wet periods of the year.
The Central Arizona Water Conservation District of the Central Arizona Project operates the Agua Fria Recharge Project, which is about 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the New Waddell Dam. It serves to recharge underground aquifers in this area, and ends at Lake Pleasant, Phoenix.