Loafer Canyon Residents Cleaning Up After Heavy Storm Covers Roads In Debris
Aug 9, 2019, 1:40 PM | Updated: 1:54 pm
LOAFER CANYON, Utah – Several canyons were hit hard by Thursday night’s storm, leading to mudslides and evacuations.
The evacuation order was lifted late Thursday night for Loafer Canyon residents, but many of them woke up Friday to a mess and plenty of weekend work ahead.
Stephen Clough was up as early as 5 a.m. taking a look at the scene just outside his home. He said he’s grateful not just that his home wasn’t hit by the mud, but also for such great neighbors who jumped into action to keep the debris away from homes.
Sandbags saving tons of residents homes after a storm came quick and caused a mudslide down Loafer Canyon in Utah County. Details @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/Cc0EuwPEyb
— Felicia Martinez (@FeliciaKSL) August 9, 2019
“I mean, that is physical manual labor to take these sandbags while they are wet,” Clough said. “Everybody I seen was in the mud in the water creating this barrier,” said Clough.
The mudslide was the result of an old burn scar from the Bald Mountain Fire that burned almost one year ago.
“We’ll all breath relief when they deal with it up above,” Clough said. “The retention pond, the debris basin, those types of things that need to happen to alleviate this kind of stuff.”
Sunrise this morning up Loafer Canyon where mudslides caused evacuations last night. #ksltv #sunrise pic.twitter.com/heQYD8rIPn
— Felicia Martinez (@FeliciaKSL) August 9, 2019
Until then, residents will continue to work together sandbagging and cutting ditches to keep water and mud away from their homes.
“Clean up, clean up and clean up,” Clough said about his plans for the weekend. “I’m sure everybody is going have that in mind go through the weekend and get everything control.”
Elkridge and Utah County Public Works are working together to get the road back open.