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SALT LAKE COUNTY -- Utah's soggy summer got even soggier Thursday. Water dropped from the sky for most of the day, and, once again, it's causing problems in parts of the valley.
Rain sent a deluge of water into a Cottonwood Heights home Thursday afternoon, and stretched resources forced firefighters to form an old-fashioned bucket brigade.
The storm drain in front of the home at 2647 Robidoux Road simply couldn't handle the volume, sending water into the garage.
United Fire Authority Battalion Chief Jeff Johnson says the problem was all their portable pumps had been sent to the West side of the valley to deal with flooding problems there.
"The guys, left to their own reserves and resources, they found the buckets in the garage," Johnson said, so they formed a line and began bailing.
"We're normally putting water into a house, not taking it out," said Johnson. "But if there's a problem we come, and try to solve it."
The homeowner tells KSL he tried to call a disaster clean-up service for help, but they told him they had at least a five-hour backup. That's when he decided to call the fire department.
Johnson says the downpour was so strong, he had trouble driving his Chevy Suburban to the scene. He says visibility was so low that people couldn't see his emergency lights, let alone the road.
The storm left as quickly as it came, leaving only small woody debris in the streets that outlined the high water marks.
Meanwhile, in the area near 9400 South and 1300 East in Sandy has been the center of a lot of the storm-related problems. The downpour that started at about 1:30 p.m. saturated the ground near the Quarry Bend shopping center.
A track hoe working near the shopping center fell into a sink hole and landed on top of a high-voltage power line. Power crews are now trying to assess just how much voltage the line is carrying so they can determine the safest way to get the track hoe out.
"We've got quite a bit of voltage that goes through these power lines. We're right next to a substation, so the danger to the public isn't great at this present time. The greatest danger is to the firefighters and the power workers themselves right now," said Sandy Fire Capt. Robert DeKorver.
The power line was eventually disabled, and crews were able to removed the track hoe with a larger tracker.
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Story compiled with contributions from Marc Giauque and Sam Penrod.
