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SALT LAKE CITY — About 40 homes remain under voluntary evacuation Thursday in Sugar House as flooding continues, though Salt Lake City's mayor said no residents had chosen to evacuate.
The evacuation recommendation affects about 100 residents in the area of 1700 South between 1500 East and 1700 East. Salt Lake City and county officials overnight expanded the area to include residents on both the north and south sides of Glen Arbor Street, the south side of Blaine Avenue between 1500 East and 1600 East, and residents of Downington Circle.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said officials were concerned that a culvert on 1500 East near Blaine Avenue could have become clogged, prompting the voluntary evacuation.
"We did do a voluntary evacuation, which — to our knowledge — none of the residents did take advantage of," Mendenhall told reporters. The order was "just out of an overabundance of caution in case that culvert became clogged, which at this point it hasn't."
The flooding late Wednesday brought community members toting shovels to help prevent homes from flooding, as Mendenhall estimated 1,000 volunteers answered the call to help with sandbags.
The mayor tweeted about 1:15 a.m. that waters had slowed somewhat.
— Mayor Erin Mendenhall (@slcmayor) April 13, 2023
In an update just after 8 a.m. Thursday, Mendenhall tweeted a photo showing severe damage to a sidewalk and sewer line on 1500 East.
"Our @slcpd officers are on scene keeping the area safe, while we assess water flows this morning. More to come," she said.
Quick update this morning. Last night's water flow has impacted the sidewalk and sewer line on 1500 E. Our @slcpd officers are on scene keeping the area safe, while we assess water flows this morning. More to come. pic.twitter.com/BYx3nsIFCg
— Mayor Erin Mendenhall (@slcmayor) April 13, 2023
Unified Fire Authority Chief Clint Mecham said emergency managers on scene have never seen flow stream meters as high as they were Wednesday. "We are dealing with record flows," he said.
Mendenhall thanked neighbors, firefighters and police officers for responding to the emergency and said there were "people of all ages" there to help.
"We put the call out to our community, and as always, the Salt Lakers showed up," said Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown. Emergency officials said around midnight that no more volunteers were needed at that time.
An update on the flooding 1700 South. Volunteers told to take a 10 minute break to assess the situation. The water has seeped through some of the sandbags, flooded a sidewalk. They're trying to decide how to best attack the situation. The water is about knee deep along 17th S. pic.twitter.com/8JwsjLpJDj
— Lindsay Aerts (@LindsayOnAir) April 13, 2023
The Red Cross announced it opened an evacuation shelter at a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 2215 E. Roosevelt Ave. Those in need of assistance can also call the Red Cross at 1-800-RED-CROSS, officials said.
Brown said residents of the affected homes were put on notice to evacuate as a precaution.
"I think we're going to be out all night, I think we'll be here tomorrow ... but it's nice we've got a lot of sandbags, we've got a lot of people. A lot of hands make light work," Brown said Wednesday night.
The flooding was expected to escalate until cooler temps caused it to peak between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m., officials said.
The mayor signed an emergency order that will allow the city to seek federal funding to address the spring flooding.
Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson issued a similar emergency order later Thursday morning, allowing the county to mobilize resources and access state and federal resources to mitigate the effects of the flood.
"I'm proud to live in a community where people step up when it's needed," Wilson stated. "While we remain concerned about flooding, the amazing response from impacted residents, our crews, and volunteers is heartening. I'm so grateful to the neighbors who stood arm in arm with Salt Lake County Flood Control and Salt Lake City crews to protect homes. Our teams are working around the clock to clear debris, manage flows and protect our community."
Our @slcfire and @slcpu teams will be filling sandbags tonight at 1700 South and 1700 East to help with flooding. They could use some help from volunteers tonight. If you're able to assist, they'd love the support. They're filling bags near the barricades at 17th and 17th. Please… pic.twitter.com/0vnXsdXXWU
— Mayor Erin Mendenhall (@slcmayor) April 13, 2023
Earlier on Wednesday, officials closed Wasatch Hollow Park due to flooding. The park is intended to hold large bodies of water to help deal with flooding, but with the runoff coming from the mountains, it couldn't keep up. On Wednesday morning, the water flooded the entire park and went onto 1700 South.
"Wasatch Hollow Park is actually a flood retention facility, and there's a grate that carries Emigration Creek's water through the city here," explained Laura Briefer, director of Salt Lake City Public Utilities.
But after Tuesday's warmup, the flow of Emigration Creek increased substantially, forcing overflow into the park and on the roads.
"Just the sheer amount of water is pretty unbelievable right now, so we are doing everything we can to make sure we can keep the system flowing correctly and make sure that it has the least amount of impact on the surrounding homes in this area," said Cade Moncur, division director of Salt Lake County Flood Control.
Emigration Creek dropped below the flood stage of water flow early Thursday, the National Weather Service said on Twitter, and levels were expected to continue to fall through Saturday due to colder temperatures. The flood warning remains in effect through midday Thursday.
Mendenhall said on Twitter the city's utility department and county's flood control crews had worked all day to mitigate the flooding near the park — although the water was still high.
She tweeted later Wednesday evening that water was moving along the roadway at 1500 East then south onto Blaine Avenue. City and county crews were working "to ensure water continues to divert away from homes," she said, asking people to avoid the area.
Reports of flooding can be made to Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities at 801-483-6700 or Salt Lake County Flood Control at 385-468-6600, the mayor added.
8:15 pm update: Water is currently moving down the roadway along 1500 East then south onto Blaine Ave. @SLCPU and Salt Lake County crews are working to ensure water continues to divert away from homes. Reports of flooding can be made to @SLCPU at 801-483-6700 or SLCo Flood… pic.twitter.com/eaBudoe7Fd
— Mayor Erin Mendenhall (@slcmayor) April 13, 2023
Ahead of Wednesday evening's evacuations, officials had said some homes in the area experienced water in basements and backyards. Salt Lake County is again asking the public to help keep debris out of storm drain grates near you.
"We are going to see some of this continue into tonight. Hopefully, we will see some of it dissipate. After that, it cools down, and we can keep it in the park, in the pipe system, and within the creek, and get it out of the road is really our biggest effort right now," Moncur said.
Contributing: Lindsay Aerts, Ashley Moser, Karah Brackin,
