Flood aftermath: Little Cottonwood residents dig out, dry off, demand answers

LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON — It's been nearly two months since the Little Cottonwood Creek flood, but homeowners Taylor and Kim World remember the long drive home from their vacation in Capitol Reef like it was yesterday.

"A neighbor called and said we were `having troubles,' " Taylor World recalls.

The family cut their southeastern Utah trip short and headed home, receiving worsening updates along the way. One neighbor told them the creek was "heading for the house, and there was nothing to do to stop it," Taylor World said.

The entire drive back, all the family could picture was the Santa Clara River flood in the St. George area in 2005, when houses slid down the red muddy banks and dropped into the raging river.

Still hours away from their home in unincorporated Salt Lake County near Cottonwood Heights, the Worlds gave the green light for their neighbors to move all their belongings to the far side of their house as a precaution for flooding.

The Worlds made the four-hour trip home in a little more than two hours. They pulled onto their street and saw their house at 8908 Cobble Canyon still standing, though their backyard was gone. Swift water was cutting under the house's foundation.

"Our family was safe, and that's what's important," Kim World said.

Now, though the creek has subsided and residents are repairing and recuperating, the Worlds and their neighbors realize their troubles are far from over.

Many residents are counting their blessings, saying it could have been worse. But they're also wondering why the county isn't doing more. Why isn't Salt Lake County footing the bill for the yard repairs, and why weren't county workers more available to help on that soggy Sunday, June 6?

The melt

Following a cold snowy spring, warm temperatures in early June caused the creek flowing from Little Cottonwood Canyon to gush, wreaking havoc with homes and businesses in southeast Salt Lake County.

That Sunday evening, residents raced to fill sandbags and help their neighbors save their homes. Many residents watched as the creek ate away their backyards, bit by bit.

Debra Goodson, who lives at 3008 E. Falentine, said she and her husband, Ray, asked the county for help in shoring up their backyard and were told county workers were "spread too thin."