Some Dollar Ridge Fire Victims Now Dealing with Flooding
Jul 23, 2018, 2:34 PM | Updated: 3:01 pm
FRUITLAND, Utah – People in the path of the devastating Dollar Ridge Fire are now facing their next road block. They’re cleaning up damage caused by flash flooding.
“Mother Nature can be mean.” Folks impacted by #DollarRidgeFire now dealing with damage from flash flooding. @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/U67LJfz1uU
— Caitlin Burchill (@newsyCaitlin) July 23, 2018
About 50 people found themselves trapped by rising waters on Sunday.
The National Weather Service issues an alert at 4 p.m. Sunday for people living and staying along the Strawberry River near Strawberry Pinnacles and Camelot Resort.
Meteorologists reporting that about an inch of rain fell in the area in an hour.
“The mudslide and the debris just stopped the river and sent it down the road,” said Alex Clyde, Duchesne County employee, who was checking out the damage on Monday.
The Strawberry River west of Camelot jumped its banks.
“The river has rerouted itself,” Clyde said. Debris from the wildfire dirtied up the water.
“We’ve just got to get the river back in its track, and then we can get on back ahead and assess the rest of the damage,” Clyde said.
Neighbors showed KSL-TV an area that used to have a little pond. Now, it’s a lake. The front yard of the Camelot lodge and camping area are thick with mud.
“Last night was a lot of water in a short amount time,” Clyde told KSL-TV.
County workers helped people move to safety using heavy equipment.
“Got the people out and that was the main goal, so we’re good for now. There’s nobody in there. We do need to get the road access because there are full-time residents up there,” he said.
This likely won’t be the only time the area is ravaged by fast-moving, muddy water.
“Given the damage done by the Dollar Ridge Fire, and the slop of the terrain in the burn scar, any amount of rain has the possibility to trigger flash flooding and debris flow. People need to know this and take proper precautions,” warned Sheriff David Boren, Duchesne County.
“Mother nature can be pretty mean for sure,” said Clyde, who added that Strawberry River Road west of Camelot is closed indefinitely during repairs.
This means there is currently no access to Timber Canyons.
On Monday, fire bosses announced plans to downgrade the Dollar Ridge Fire to a Type 3 fire Tuesday morning, meaning firefighters need fewer resources to fight it. It’s already burned 57,051 acres but is 93% contained. Investigators say it’s human-caused, but have not said what sparked the blaze.
Final update for the #DollarRidgeFire
Inciweb:https://t.co/n98CUv1qn6#AshleyNationalForest pic.twitter.com/3A6Gs9aqCD
— Utah Fire Info (@UtahWildfire) July 23, 2018
