Spring runoff signals end to years of drought
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BRIGHAM CITY, Utah — After years of enduring drought, bone-dry fields and parched lawns, Church members in several Utah spots are weathering the opening rounds of what could be a destructive spring flood season.
Several basements and fields in northern Utah's Box Elder and Cache Counties were flooded in the final days of April after heavy rains overflowed rivers and creeks and overwhelmed retention reservoirs already filled by heavy snow melt.
Muddy flood waters breached the typically placid Box Elder Creek that flows through Brigham City and provided an unwanted early morning wake-up call April 28 for Cade Palmer and his wife, Janie, who is weeks away from delivering the couple's first child. Neighbors began pounding on the door of the Palmers' basement apartment at about 5:30 a.m., hollering for the residents to get out even as the flood waters came in, filling the residence with several feet of silty liquid and mud.
"We've lost (almost) everything — it's all gone," said Brother Palmer as he removed a few pieces of his wife's artwork that was hung high enough on a wall to escape water damage. He didn't work alone. Several ward members and friends moved in and out of the muddy basement apartment, hauling out boxes and sifting through valuables that might be salvaged.
"We had three feet of water in here," said Bishop Michael Iverson, who work clothes to help the Palmers and other flood-affected folks in his ward clean up.
The Palmers — members of the Brigham City 7th Ward, Brigham City Utah West Stake — belong to a growing list of members counted among the first victims of Utah Spring Flood 2005. Property, crops and livestock have been lost, and some have been forced to find shelter with friends or relatives. There have been no injuries to members or damage to Church property, according to Church Emergency Response Director Garry Flake.
Outside of Brigham City, flooding was reported near Hyrum and in residential areas along the Blacksmith Fork River in Nibley in Cache County.
The consequences of an unusually wet Utah winter have not been limited to rising water. Unstable, saturated soil prompted a mudslide in Cedar Hills in Utah County. Three LDS homes were reportedly in jeopardy. The mudflow had not entered the homes at press time, but residents were evacuated. Friends and fellow ward members gathered quickly at the affected homes to help homeowners move out furniture and other valuables that could be lost if mud encroached on the homes.
The Church moved quickly to assist flood victims and protect property from rising waters. Working closely with civic leaders, Church welfare officials mobilized both material and muscle to vulnerable areas. A truck filled with sandbags from the Bishops' Central Storehouse in Salt Lake City was delivered to Brigham City. Some 10,000 empty sandbags were also provided. LDS volunteers and others reported at each location to fill bags and build make-shift dikes around homes bordering swollen waterways.
Katherine Winne of Brigham City was relieved to see a team of high school students arrive at her home and begin building a five-layer deep sandbag wall. The barrier prevented water spilling over the banks of Box Elder Creek from entering her home.
"It was awesome to see all those kids," Sister Winne said.
Church welfare officials hope flooding in Utah will be limited this spring. Still, they're preparing for trouble and keeping in contact with nervous civic officials.
"The time to fill bags is before you're standing in streams," Brother Flake said. Six trucks of sandbags have been positioned in the southern Utah communities of Cedar City, Enoch and Panguitch. Stakes in the Salt Lake County area are also accepting assignments to fill sandbags at the Bishop's Central Storehouse and boost the Church's ready supply.
Almost 200,000 empty bags are on hand and ready to be filled if needed, Brother Flake said.
E-mail to: jswensen@desnews.com
