Flooding warned for Little Cottonwood Creek; Daggett deals with landslide

SALT LAKE CITY  — The National Weather Service warned Wednesday of potential flooding along Little Cottonwood Creek because of warmer temperatures that have increased the snowmelt.

The creek was expected to reach flood flows in the evening hours, but the warning remains in effect through 10 p.m. Friday.

Bank erosion and threats to infrastructure could occur along the creek from its headwaters and as it passes through Sandy. The creek dumps into Jordan River, which is also running high.

Elsewhere along the Wasatch Front, Gov. Gary Herbert has announced an additional $200,000 for flood control efforts along the Weber River. Flooding in western Weber County is threatening homes and has damaged dairy farms. High river flows have caused several breaches in levees.

The state Division of Emergency Management received word Wednesday that the Weber County town of Uintah declared an emergency because of flooding along the Weber River, which is also posing problems to a large gravel pit in neighboring South Weber.

The two communities at the mouth of Weber Canyon have been battling the high flows from the river before it meets up with the Ogden River and dumps into the Great Salt Lake.

On Tuesday, Daggett County commissioners also declared an emergency because of a rock and mudslide that choked off a portion of a main thoroughfare, county Highway 1364.

Although one lane is open, Daggett County Commissioner Jerry Steglich said any further movement in the slide could pose serious economic problems for the area, which is home to the Utah portion of Flaming Gorge Dam.

The highway provides access to the Green River for a wide variety of outdoor activities, including fly fishing and river rafting.

In addition, the slide occurred below a Questar natural gas pipeline, which Steglich said has been inspected by the utility company and deemed structurally safe.

The county, however, lacks some of the heavy equipment necessary to clear the large boulders on the roadway.

If the highway was completely cut off, residents could use an alternative route through Jessie Ewing Canyon, but the declaration says the road is "extremely steep and has not been maintained."

Other alternatives that would link residents of the Brown's Park area to emergency services and the courthouse in Manila would involve detours of up to 200 miles, Steglich said.

"They (state officials) can see we have safety concerns," he said.

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