HILDALE, Washington County — As balloons were released into the evening sky Wednesday, Harvey Dockstader reflected on the significance of the gesture for a grieving, yet healing community that lost 13 people to a flash flood exactly a year ago.

"They went up towards the moon (and) it was like it was acknowledging the victims, but also acknowledging each other and the commitment to reconnect and to just love and be a community again," Dockstader said.

A year after the devastating flood in Hildale, the town came together to commemorate the victims and give gratitude to those who helped the community recover. Residents lit candles — some of them specifically honoring flood victims by name — and also released balloons and embraced each other. Some community leaders gave prepared remarks.

The tragedy, caused by momentous downpour, brought an unusually bright spotlight on the reclusive polygamous town, which has a reputation for limiting contact with the outside world.

"It has provided an opportunity for people to experience healing," said Dockstader, who hails from Colorado City, just across the Arizona border. "Sometimes it takes a tragedy for our hearts to open up and for our hearts to get past the fear of ... 'Can I love somebody that’s different from me?'"

In the face of the disaster, outsiders and locals were forced to see each other's humanity rather than focus on their differences, said longtime resident Terrill Musser. Musser wanted the town to keep that kind of focus at the town's vigil and memorial held Wednesday evening.

"It's not about religion," Musser said. "Honestly, it's about who lost their lives. … It's about honoring those (people) and it's also about (thanking) all the people that showed up."

Seven people from California and Nevada were also killed in the same storm system by flash flooding while canyoneering in nearby Zion National Park. A Hurricane man who was driving near the Utah-Arizona border was also killed by the extraordinary weather after his vehicle was caught and swept up in the same storm.

Authorities say three women — all of them sisters — and 13 children were caught up after flood water surged down a canyon and swept away their two vehicles. The vehicle was carried away and 12 bodies were later recovered miles downstream. Three boys survived and 6-year-old Tyson Black, whose body was never found, is presumed dead.

Forever changed

Washington County sheriff's deputy Darrell Cashin, a part of the search and rescue team that recovered the many bodies of the victims, still reflects on the sheer magnitude of the disaster.

"You get focused on the job at hand, but you don't really realize the scope of it until you've had time to step back, until you're away from it for a while and you look at it and go, 'This is something that is so unusual and it shouldn't happen," Cashin said.

The deputy added that he is holding out hope that one day, 6-year-old Tyson's body will finally be located.

"We are at a loss of where to search, but we still keep trying," he said.

Musser believes Hildale may be forever changed in light of the painful human toll exacted on the day of the flash flood.

"There's a a lot of people still so affected by a year ago today (and) the flood that happened," he said.

If there is one slight solace to the community in the wake of the disaster, Musser said, it is that it brought residents and outsiders together like nothing other than a tragedy could.

"A lot of people during the flood event interacted with people from the outside world for the first time in their entire lives," he said.

Shirley Draper, a representative for Cherish Families, a charitable non-profit that serves polygamous families in southern Utah, said Wednesday's vigil was cathartic.

"Commemorating this is a way for us of … reaching out and thanking the world, thanking the states and all of the heroes that came out and assisted and donated money and food and time and labor," Draper said. "And it's our way of honoring them and honoring the victims and the families and honoring the growth and rebirth of our whole community."

Draper recalled the "gloom" of the flood and how it rocked families in the area. As others arrived in the community to offer help, it healed hearts, she said.

"It became the catalyst of us reuniting as a community," she said.

Musser said the flood will be remembered in the community for generations to come.

"When people look back from 50 to 100 years (from now) and (ask) what was the defining moment of when Hildale and Colorado City changed, it's going to be the flood," he said.

Hildale resident Jeff Barlow said families are seeing the cultural change on an daily basis.

"Everything was divided by religion, and (now) those barriers are starting to break down," Barlow said. "Everybody is starting to get along. Everybody is starting to have barbecues together."

Infrastructure

Hildale resident George Jessop clearly remembers the catastrophic weather.

"It was very intense, the rain. ... We've never seen water like that come down this canyon," Jessop said Wednesday.

The town of Hildale, the headquarters of the Fundamentalist LDS Church, has since received more than $2.2 million in state funding for disaster cleanup and upgrades to local infrastructure. Hildale officials said they plan to use $1 million in federal money for similar uses.

The improvements are "well overdue," said Tyler Young, a project manager for Sunrise Engineering, which installed a bridge over Short Creek, which runs through Hildale.

"It's not until a major flood event like what happened last year (that) the issue and problem (are) seriously highlighted," Young said.

The 100-foot bridge is built over the area where the water carried away the victims, according to Young. Canals for diverting water have also been built in that area.

"I've had several people say, 'You know, I can sleep when it rains now,'" Young said.

Jessop said he and fellow residents are encouraged by the new infrastructure and are confident it can go a long way in preventing massive tragedies in the future.

"The safety that I feel is that other people are safe," he said. "We're not going to hear about or get a phone call that someone's in trouble."

Contributing: Alex Cabrero, Spenser Heaps, Ladd Egan

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