HURRICANE, Utah — Southwest Utah’s city of Hurricane is under a local emergency after a burst of heavy rain Thursday sent a wall of muddy water down Gould Wash, tearing through the red rock near Sky Mountain Golf Course and into neighborhoods below.
City officials said early counts showed roughly 80 homes and about 50 recreational vehicles at the Willow Wind RV Park were affected, more than 100 residential structures in all. Police had urged people in the Willow Wind complex and along the wash to get out hours before Mayor Clark Fawcett signed the emergency order that afternoon.
The National Weather Service put southeastern Washington County under a flash flood warning shortly before 10 a.m., saying 1 to 2 inches of rain over the headwaters of the wash had created a large flood wave moving through town. Water reached the grilles of cars and trucks on some streets.
For some families near 850 West it was a cruel repeat. The same neighborhood flooded on Aug. 14, and some homes there had only become livable again in early October after weeks of repairs. Neighbors are again pooling money for cleanup, and local businesses have been bringing food to crews scraping mud from the streets.
The city reported damage to bridges, culverts, roads and electrical boxes, and warned that mud and debris could disrupt utilities. The declaration lets Hurricane pursue state and federal help once costs are tallied. The local water district said much of the runoff came down North Creek and Kolob Terrace Road and that it opened diversion dam gates to ease the damage.
An emergency shelter opened at a Latter-day Saint stake center at 272 S. 700 West, with the American Red Cross helping displaced residents, and medical staff were stationed at the Coral Cliffs movie theater. Elsewhere in the state, flood debris closed part of state Route 24 inside Capitol Reef National Park.
Filed under: Aiken SC Weather News
