Storms cause uproar in Utah County, Dixie

Wind gusts up to 51 miles per hour uprooted trees, snapped power poles and brought traffic to a near standstill in St. George on Friday. In Utah County, more than a dozen homeowners were sloshing through their basements after a short but moisture-laden thunderstorm Thursday night.

"In some houses, water was just seeping into the basements, but other houses were full to the brim and overflowing," said Jamie Davidson, city administrator for Lehi city, where six houses were damaged by flooding. "We had a good amount of water flowing through the entire city."

Davidson said the city's storm drains, clogged with brush and mud, couldn't handle the quick and heavy rainfall.

The city started getting phone calls about flooded yards and garages almost as soon as the rain started at about 10:30 p.m., Davidson said. Firefighters, police and public works employees worked through the night and crews were still busy cleaning out storm drains Friday evening.

The flooded houses were scattered throughout the city, but most were in areas where crews had been digging recently, Davidson said. Because of dry soil conditions and sparse vegetation, water was rolling down hills rather than seeping into the ground, he said.

Flood damage was more condensed in Saratoga Springs: The five to seven homes flooded in the city were clustered in the same subdivision. Many homes in the subdivision were up for sale and unoccupied, so public works employees were still checking houses for flood damage Friday evening, said Cpl. Aaron Rosen, public information officer for the city's fire department.

In some areas, water rushed through the streets. Police set up cars at the intersection of state Route 73 and Redwood Road to help discourage speeds that would cause hydroplaning, he said.

Clean-up was "an all night affair," he said. "The public works team worked the sump pump, the fire department helped divert water, and neighbors came out to help with sandbagging."

In American Fork, two houses in the northeast portion of the city had flooded basements. City officials are unsure whether the flooding was related to the storm, however, because the houses are not neighboring, the city's public information officer Linda Walton said.

At the American Fork Cemetery, windows were broken in the sexton's office. City officials will investigate to determine if it was vandalism or storm-related, Walton said.