Dixie floods took big toll on treasures

ST. GEORGE — Two months after raging floodwaters tore homes from their footings and tossed decades of memories into the Santa Clara River, little of what was lost has been found, though there are the stray exceptions.

"A few things were found and returned to their owners, but there really hasn't been a whole lot," said Lonnie Clove, bishop of the Green Valley 3rd Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "In my ward alone, we had 22 families displaced. It's been a tremendous challenge for all of us."

Of the more than 30 houses lost or damaged by the January floods, 14 homes were in Clove's LDS ward. Another eight damaged homes were condemned, although a few houses might still be saved with adequate structural repair, he said.

When the Santa Clara River began to rise, families living near the rising waters thought danger was a safe distance away.

Within 24 hours, residents in subdivisions with names like Creekside, Riverwood and Shadow Creek learned their homes were suddenly in the path of an insatiable monster.

"That river was sucking homes in so fast, you wouldn't even know the house had ever been there," Clove said. "Even the lots were gone, all within 30 seconds."

On Friday, demolition crews hired by the city began tearing down some of the damaged houses still clinging to the riverbanks.

"That's a good thing. People have had to look at what's left of their homes for two months now. This will help them move on," Clove said.

Once the water subsided and damage could be assessed, people began finding personal items along the newly widened, sandy riverbanks. But most of the personal possessions lost to the river were never found. Many people speculated that everything wound up downstream in Nevada's Lake Mead.

Kent Perkins said he picked up several things while checking out damage to one of the city's walking trails along the river.

"I found the legs and arms of a porcelain doll, medicine bottles and a Tupperware container of rice or wheat. Stuff like that," said Perkins, who is also St. George's city director of leisure services. "I've still got it in a sack, but I'm not sure what to do with it."

The public was initially told to take any found items to the St. George Police Department for safekeeping, and a few items were identified and returned to their owners. If an owner wasn't located, then items considered to be of no worth were destroyed, said St. George police officer Troy Porter, who oversees the evidence room.

"We only got a handful of items, and most of those things were returned to the owners. We don't have anything left," he said.