Fronteras

The valley’s under a flash flood watch all day Tuesday, and wet weather is affecting some of the 9/11 memorials going on. 

Flags fill the Healing Field at Tempe Beach Park. (Photo by Nick Blumberg)

Each flag commemorates someone who died in the terrorist attacks. (Photo by Nick Blumberg)

The Healing Field at Tempe Beach Park is a striking memorial to the victims of September 11th, 2001. The park is filled with 8 foot tall flags, each commemorating someone who died that day. On this eleventh anniversary, the somber mood was accompanied by rain.

Shortly after 6 a.m., the skies opened; first a drizzle, then a steady downpour. Some visitors attending an early morning memorial service left the park, but many stayed: a moderately sized but attentive crowd huddling under umbrellas or just braving the rain as they listened to a reading of the names of those who died.

A candlelight vigil will be held in the park at 7 o’clock tonight. The scheduled keynote guest is a former New York City police officer who helped evacuate children from a day care facility in the World Trade Center.

Updated 9-11-12 8:32 a.m.