Rain's a huge pain in Herriman

HERRIMAN — Thunderstorms rolled across the Salt Lake Valley Wednesday as Tami Bunderson sifted through family photos, placing them on her kitchen table so they could dry.

Earlier in the afternoon, rainwater flowed down a dirt road near Bunderson's home, eventually funneling itself into her basement. In minutes the water filled the rooms, pooling nearly 8 feet high. Photos, clothes and her husband's tools floated in the water.

"The neighbors called and told us water was filling the basement," Bunderson said. "I got home and there was a tractor trying to divert the water."

Capt. Clint Smith of the Unified Fire Authority said the flooding was a result of oversaturated farm fields and an influx of water overflowing from storm drains in the city. Workers from Herriman and UFA worked to divert the runoff waters into the streets with sandbags by creating ditches, but Bunderson said the damage had been done.

At around 2 p.m. UFA crews responded to a flooding call at 12589 S. Majestic Hill Court (6035 West). Three homes had reported water damage — one minor, the other two substantial.

"Our basement wasn't finished, so that is nice for us," Bunderson said. "That wasn't the case for our neighbors though."

Tennille Vance returned home from work shortly after 2 p.m to see fire crews pumping water from the basement of her home.

"There was nothing we could do," Vance said. "The water was 8 feet high down there."

Neighbors and response crews worked side by side packing furniture and keepsakes out of Vance's home, throwing what couldn't be salvaged into Dumpsters provided by the city. Vance said her mother-in-law had been living in the recently furnished basement, but the family remained positive as they sorted through boxes covered in mud.

"Luckily no one was hurt," Vance said. "We can be grateful it was only material things that were lost."

As Vance spoke with the Deseret News, a neighbor asked what she'd like done with the family's Christmas decorations. Vance asked that the neighbor keep what they thought was salvageable.

Neighbors in the area said flooding like this has happened in the past as farmers rotate crops, but both Vance and Bunderson said the damage hadn't been this extensive before.