Destructive storm in Springville destroys homes, cars, trees

SPRINGVILLE, Utah —A neighborhood in Springville was left cleaning up Tuesday, after a suspected microburst blew through the area during Monday’s storm, toppling trees and damaging homes.

For many, Monday night’s storms across the Wasatch front stopped at rain and lightning. But for people near South Main Street in Springville, the lightning show abruptly turned into an intense wind event.

“It was just a normal rainstorm for everybody else,” said Afton Adamson.

Adamson and her family were watching the lightning on their front porch but moved inside when the wind picked up. Seconds later she said her two-year-old screamed as he watched the 100-year-old tree in their front yard moving toward the home.

What was the storm like last night where you live?

It was bad in parts of Springville. Several properties were torn up. @KSL5TV @kslweather pic.twitter.com/nhY4O4nmin

— Matt Rascon (@MattRasconNews) August 2, 2022

Adamson said she grabbed her two-year-old and two-month-old and ran into her room, hoping the tree wouldn’t “crush the house.”

Adamson teaches horseback riding lessons. Later that night she would go to her backyard to check on her horses. She found more trees toppled, a twisted metal gate, and a tree on top of their jeep with a branch stabbed through the windshield.

“Just being on pins and needles, waiting to wake up this morning and see what the damage was,” she said.

The morning brought more bad news. They found more trees down, with at least three resting on the front of their home.

“Every single tree in our front yard aimed for our property. Every single one,” she said.

Her neighbor’s property didn’t look much better. A tree crushed an RV trailer. That neighbor called in Alvey Tree Service at six Tuesday morning because he couldn’t get out of his driveway.

But when owner Bradene Alvey arrived, she didn’t expect to see so much damage and two help remove trees across multiple properties.

Extensive wind damage from last night’s wet microburst in Springville has neighbors roofless in some areas! After further review on the phone with @NWSSaltLakeCity this is a straight-line wind event as radar does not indicate any tornadic signatures. #utwx

📸 : @MattRasconNews pic.twitter.com/zUJiQP0Jay

— Matthew Johnson (@KSL_Matt) August 2, 2022

“I was really shocked. I didn’t know the wind came through so hard. What a nightmare,” Alvey said.

“Had to be pretty bad for that to uproot all these trees. Good, healthy trees.”

Adamson’s family has only lived in their home for about a year. They moved in not long after a wildfire damaged their home in Saratoga Springs.

Now, they’re dealing with insurance again, this time with a flooded garage and damaged roof, Jeep, and property.

She said they are heartbroken, but grateful for neighbors, friends, and family members who arrived first thing on Tuesday with chain saws to help with cleanup.