Because of the tremendous loss expected from the flooding, the entire area has been declared an emergency disaster area. Okerlund said state help will be necessary to cover the costs of rebuilding the roads, replanting fields and combatting the mosquito breeding problem that is expected since a portion of the lands will remain wet throughout the summer.

"The cleanup will take quite a while even though we were well-prepared for it this time around," he said.

A rash of lightning strikes over southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona also sparked 23 fires overnight, according to the Bureau of Land Management Fire Information Office in Cedar City.

The largest is the South West Utah Hill Fire, which is burning close to 300 acres of grass, pinyon and juniper about 12 miles west of St. George. The Cliff Fire, located seven miles southwest of Gunlock in Washington County, is estimated to be more than 100 acres.

Two hand crews, two helicopters, two large air tankers, four single engine air tankers, three engines and one water tender are fighting the fires. More equipment and firefighters have been called in to assist in the firefighting efforts, according to a BLM news release.

There are no estimates for containment or control of these fires.

Other parts of the state also experienced extreme weather. The roof of a home in Panguitch buckled in high winds. The National Weather Service reported a funnel cloud in the area.

For the most part, central Utah's water woes are over, at least for the week, according to Dan Brown, National Weather Service hydrometeorological technician. He said the storm that hung in Utah for the past two days is headed into Colorado.

Today is expected to be partly cloudy, with temperatures in the low 70s and a 20 percent chance of rain. Brown said that Sunday would be warmer as a south wind comes in ahead of another storm.

"The next storm will mainly affect only northern Utah," he said.

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E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com; wleonard@desnews.com