Weather Intrudes on Holiday Plans

Weather Intrudes on Holiday Plans


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Samantha Hayes ReportingFrom sunny parades to soggy barbecues, chances are, severe weather changed your plans tonight. It's been a fickle Fourth of July holiday.

Severe thunderstorms rolled through Utah tonight, an evening most people planned to spend outside. Rain did not just delay barbecues, it also stranded several hikers and caused a rock slide in one of the canyons, and a fireworks show in Clearfield was canceled.

Weather Intrudes on Holiday Plans

The evidence left behind --a soda can and part of a watermelon-- suggests at one point it was a nice day up at one mountain campsite.

Craig Mellen, Camper: "Record busy crowd. Every place filled, and then the water started curling up."

And then everyone at the picnic table ran for cover. It was a much bigger problem for folks stuck up on trails.

Sgt. Todd Griffiths, Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office: "People just don't realize, just because it's a nice, sunny day one minute, couple of hours you are coming down, it's freezing cold with hail, and people get caught unprepared in the mountains."

It turned into a busy day for Sargeant Todd Griffiths and the Salt Lake County sheriff's department. Helping hikers down the mountain, clearing rocks off the mountain road.

Sgt. Todd Griffiths: "We have UDOT en route to clean up the road. When things calm down, we can assess the problem and fix it for good."

Hoping for a quick fix to barbecues gone bad, families waited out the storm in close quarters.

Darla Butterfield: "This is our seventh year here and the first time it has rained."

County rescuers found stranded hikers, so there will be no searches tonight.

It's clearing up now, good news for the firework show in Sugarhouse.

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