Man rescued after downpour on Ensign Peak

A sudden downpour of rain Saturday afternoon made it impossible for a man on Ensign Peak to get down, and firefighters rescued him.

Two men in their early 20s were hiking up the peak about 3:30 p.m. when the rain began, Salt Lake City fire department spokesman Scott Freitag said. One of the men, Wes Aguilar, had a pre-existing medical condition and was unable to continue because of the damp and the cold. Rescuers were called, Freitag said.

The area was too steep for rescue trucks, so six paramedics carried Aguilar in a Stokes basket down the hill. At the bottom of the hill, he was assessed for injuries. He was not hurt, Freitag said.

Saturday's thunderstorm caused flash flooding throughout the Salt Lake Valley, as rain pounded for 20-40 minutes and overwhelmed drainage systems, National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Conger said.

"The heaviest rain was in Salt Lake City proper, South Salt Lake and the Avenues. About three-quarters of an inch fell in those areas. About a tenth of an inch fell in the Sandy area," he said.

During the same time, Coalville, on the opposite side of the Wasatch, received a half-inch of rain, Conger said. Intersections around town were flooded. The weekend's rainy weather comes from a slow-moving storm from Nevada. Rain is expected Sunday afternoon and early evening. There is a chance of rain on Monday.

"The trend (of rain) will decrease a bit as we move into Tuesday," Conger said.

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