Friday storm floods streets, homes around Utah
Aug 12, 2022, 11:13 PM | Updated: 11:20 pm
WEST JORDAN, Utah — Thunderstorms Friday brought rain and hail to Utah, causing water to build up and flow through streets and homes in communities around the state.
In West Jordan, one neighborhood was left dealing with a muddy mess after water overflowed from a culvert, crashing across 6400 West and into a nearby neighborhood.
Video shows rivers and ponds springing up on the streets and around homes.
It caused basements to flood in some of the homes. Dozens of neighbors jumped in to help, bringing shop vacuums, buckets, shovels and brooms.
Dustin Heath’s house took the brunt of the sudden flood through his neighborhood. He explained how he and his wife had just moved to that home recently. Heath was working on a home project when the storms moved through.
“My wife thought, ‘Hey, we should check downstairs and see if everything’s good,’ since we’ve only been here a couple weeks,” Heath said, adding, “and it wasn’t good.”
When it rains, it floods in #Utah. And today it created a big mess in areas around the state, including this neighborhood in West Jordan. Streets turned to rivers and basements filled with water. (📸 Rae Armijo) #utwx @kslweather @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/A6lJYatMj3
— Lauren Steinbrecher (@LaurenSnews) August 13, 2022
Down in Goshen, other homeowners were left with a similar mess when nearly two inches of rain fell in an hour.
One homeowner, Heather MacLee, said her basement got a couple feet of water inside, leaving behind mud and damage.
“It just turned into a lake in the backyard, and I think the water just seeped into the ground and then up our window wells. And then it just starting pouring in like a waterwall,” she said.
Goshen Mayor Steven Staheli said four homes had flood damage from the downpour.
“Just crazy, crazy,” he said. “Like I’ve never seen it rain like this in Goshen my whole life.”
Staheli said everyone came together to help sandbag and clean up the floodwaters.
U.S. Highway 6 experienced a mudslide in Utah County near Sheep Creek, temporarily closing all westbound lanes while UDOT worked to clear the debris.
US 6 Mile Post 198
All westbound lanes are closed due to a mudslide in the area, one eastbound lane is open. @UDOTTRAFFIC workers are pushing debris out of the road.
Estimated to open by 3 p.m. pic.twitter.com/4HuwpHOq49
— Utah Highway Patrol (@UTHighwayPatrol) August 12, 2022
Heavy rains in Central Utah also led to an impressive debris flow near Fillmore.
“There was a lot of help. I’d only met one of the neighbors prior to this, and now I’ve met a whole bunch,” he said with a chuckle.
By nightfall, the neighbors had all the mud cleared out and pushed onto the street. The City of West Jordan brought in heavy equipment and a dump truck to scrape up all the mud and haul it away.
It’s not the neighborhood welcome Heath imagined, but he expressed feeling grateful he didn’t face cleanup alone.
“She’s still happy that we moved,” he said, with a laugh.
