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A major storm pounded almost every part of Utah Friday night. Torrential rain ravaged the hills above Layton where fires have wiped away groundcover. Several families were evacuated their homes.
In south central Utah, Wayne County took the brunt of the storm. Roads were washed out, buildings damaged and a busload of schoolchildren found themselves stranded for a time.
Hanksville seems to have been hit the hardest. It's stopped raining now, but for a time, we're told, it was ankle deep.
A school bus full of kids was stranded on Highway 24, between two washed out areas of the road. Rescue crews were called to get the kids out.
Also, a trailer home was knocked off its foundation by rushing water. A rescue crew was called to that scene too.
At the Best Value Hotel in Hanksville, water covered the floors of the rooms. The damage kept them from renting out any rooms. They used sandbags and tarps in an effort to stop more water from getting in.
Ed Bahr: (Reporter: Have you ever seen anything like that?) "No, I haven't. It was pretty incredible. We did okay until about 11:00. Then about 11:00 it broke over the dam on the main irrigation ditch.
Witnesses say water was eight to 12 feet over the top of that dam.
Water covered Highway 24 and has even eroded it in some spots. It is closed right now. UHP is on both sides of the closure, directing traffic.
Several homes were evacuated in Layton because of fears from flooding due to a hillside that was stricken with fire earlier this year. Crews have sandbagged the area in an effort to protect the neighborhood.
The rain was falling hard around 6:00 Friday night. City officials are very concerned about the danger of flooding because of the fire. So far there have been no reports of serious damage, but authorities decided to evacuate several homes in the area around 7:00 tonight, as a precaution.
James Petre, Layton Police: "We started an evacuation that affected about seven to 10 homes, had those folks go down to Layton High School and meet there. During that time the weather let up some. Davis County flood control was able to come up, assess the situation; they were able to determine those homes were not in any danger at that time."
Volunteers were called out at about 8:00 to start filling sandbags. Within an hour, enough sandbags were placed along the danger spots that they feel they're in pretty good shape for now.
While they may have dodged a bullet with flooding, there is still a lot of worry that the soil on the mountainside could be oversaturated. More rain could potentially cause a mudslide still.
Five to seven homes were also evacuated due to a backed up culvert.
Rocks and storm debris from a waterlogged culvert closed Big Cottonwood Canyon for a time.
Floodwaters are also threatening the town of Oak City in Millard County. The "Devil's Den" fire scorched thousands of acres in the area last August, taking with it ground cover. Heavy rains poured down there all Friday.
