One of Sedona’s three National Historic Places was flooded and two employees were trapped inside Thursday, Sept. 10, when the sky opened over Sedona.

The Hummingbird House, on the corner of Brewer and Ranger Roads was in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time as Soldiers Wash flooded, crossed over Brewer Road, swept past the Hummingbird House and into Tlaquepaque’s parking lot.

Wendy Pohlman and another employee were busy pulling merchandise inside, when Pohlman noticed the water rising fast.

The employees rolled up carpets and put them against the door to keep the rushing water out, she said.

Busy moving things from the path of the flowing water and mud, it wasn’t until Imagine Art owner, Linda Damita called from next door, that Pohlman realized she was trapped inside with water inches deep and 2 feet of swirling water outside.

Damita called 9-1-1, then got on the phone with Pohlman to communicate between the firefighters and the employees.

She directed the two to the back room, where two Sedona Fire District rescuers broke a window and brought the women out.

As water backed up just past the historic building, it swirled behind it in the opposite direction.

“It was the worst experience I’ve ever had,” Pohlman said. “Water rushed in the opposite direction. It circled around us. We had nowhere to go.”

According to Janeen Trevillyan, a past member of the city’s Historic Preservation Commission, the building doesn’t appear to have sustained structural damage.

Buckled floor boards are being removed and everything will be monitored for mold.

“There’s the expectation that it will be restored,” Trevillyan said. “The owners are committed to the structure and the history of that building.”