Floodwaters damaged homes and one recreational vehicle and destroyed a bridge near Gunlock in Washington County on Wednesday.

Much of the muddy water that roared down the left fork of North Creek on Kolob Mountain wound up in the Staples subdivision, a family enclave of six homes built along a creek that winds along Kolob Canyon Road near Virgin.

"In the 46 years that I've lived here, this is the biggest flood I've ever seen come down the North Creek," said Doug Wilson, who made his way down Kolob Mountain at the height of the flooding.

Wilson said his friend, Mike Staples, lost a portion of a log cabin and had several other family homes seriously damaged in the raging floodwaters. At least two feet of mud clogged the Kolob Canyon Road near Sunset Canyon Ranch, Wilson said, which was eventually cleared out by the ranch owner using a backhoe.

Washington County Sheriff's Lt. Jake Adams said deputies had to rescue several of the home's residents by stringing a line across the water and swimming back and forth to dry land with the occupants. Rescuers were not able to save a few pigs, dogs, cats and a bird from the rising waters. The department's swift-water rescue team rescued about 30 people.

Other rescue operations took place after people climbed to their rooftops to avoid the water, according to the National Weather Service.

Zion National Park rangers also were trying to learn late Wednesday if there were any hikers missing in the backcountry since several vehicles remained parked at the Subway trailhead.

The recreational vehicle that was destroyed was the only one that remained in the Zion River Resort after evacuation orders were issued. About 40 people were able to get their recreational vehicles out of the park, which is built along the banks of the Virgin River, before waters reached dangerous levels.

North of the town of Gunlock, where three homes were flooded, a bridge spanning the Santa Clara River was washed away during the flooding. With it went about 90 yards of roadway. On the other side of town, a bridge was passable, Adams said. Both bridges were seriously damaged during the massive floods of 2005 that also swept more than a dozen homes into the Virgin and Santa Clara rivers in St. George.

By dark, the water levels had started to recede, Adams said. No human injuries had been reported, but property damage was extensive.

A central emergency operations center was opened at the Washington County Administration Building in St. George to monitor the situation. Although the Red Cross was ready with an emergency shelter in La Verkin, none of the displaced homeowners took advantage of the shelter.

"Most of the roads will be open by morning and should be passable. We're still trying to account for people and make sure no one is missing," Adams said late Wednesday.

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