Torrents in Dixie

ST. GEORGE — Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. was to survey the devastation in southern Utah today caused by flooding that damaged roads and homes and likely claimed the life of a man who was swept off the hood of his vehicle near Quail Creek Reservoir.

A swift water rescue and dive team worked throughout the day to try to locate the man, who is in his early 60s, but were unable to find him, according to Washington County Sheriff Kirk Smith.

"They really couldn't see anything in the lake. There was too much debris," Smith said.

The man's name was not released since the rescue effort is ongoing, he added, although KCSG-TV in St. George reported the missing man is Gerold Gremmet.

Washington County elected officials said nearly every city in the county was experiencing some kind of flood damage, and they declared a local state of emergency Monday afternoon.

The declaration opens the way for cities and the county to apply for state and federal aid. It would also qualify affected homeowners to apply for federal flood insurance.

Huntsman will view the devastation today, said Washington County Emergency Services Coordinator Dean Cox. A state assessment team will be in St. George as well to begin to quantify the extent of the damage and determine if the state might be eligible for federal disaster assistance.

"(Huntsman) wants to get a good look at what's happened and we can show it to him," Cox said, adding that the governor will find plenty of roads, bridges, walking trails, golf courses and several homes damaged by the area's two rivers and their many tributaries.

"Every drainage, creek and river in the county is at flood levels," Cox said.

Among the hardest hit areas was Bloomington, a suburb of large homes just south of here. Thousands of sandbags were transported and filled to protect numerous homes constructed near the Virgin River, which jumped its banks and tore down cottonwood trees growing at the river's edge. That clogged bridges and cut new channels in the red sand.

Floodwaters from the Santa Clara River isolated the rural town of Gunlock, creating concern for emergency personnel who worried about responding to medical calls, Cox said. A family in Motoqua, on the west side of the county, became stranded but refused to evacuate.

The man presumed dead was in the Red Cliff Recreation area near Quail Creek Reservoir when the SUV carrying him and a female passenger became stuck in a torrent. The man got out of the vehicle, stood atop the hood and was swept away. The female passenger was rescued safely, but the search for the man was continuing.