'Waves crashing down the mountain;' more than 200 volunteers help with massive mudslide cleanup

PROVO — Intense storms triggered a debris flow from the Buckley Draw fire burn scar overnight. Provo officials said this storm and subsequent damage were so significant, the U.S. Forest Service and National Weather Service reported the impacts acted like a 25-year storm event. Officials said mud covered parts of Nevada Avenue, Slate Canyon Drive and as far west as State Street. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouse on Slate Canyon Drive was hit the hardest.   Dave Barnes, who lives in the area, said he rushed to the church Wednesday night when the rain became a heavy downpour. "You can't get in front of it, you can't stop it," Barnes said. "It's already taken out the cement barriers." He said the mudslide was so loud it sounded like ocean waves. "It sounded like trees falling, rocks falling, mud crashing, I thought it was a helicopter at first," Barnes said. He said about 30 people were inside the building at the time. He and others rushed to evacuate them. Meanwhile, presiding Stake President with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Bryan Hopkins, said he tried to warn Provo city officials about this possibility, two weeks ago. "They told me they were having trouble getting the berm extended because there were some power poles that needed to be removed before they could build the berm," Hopkins said. "So, it was a hopeful stopgap. They put some cement barriers along the road. But I was here when the first wave of mud hit, and it blew right through those, like they weren't even there." Provo city Mayor, Michelle Kaufusi, responded to Hopkins warning. "So, every time we have a disaster like this, we learn so much and we become better and stronger and more prepared. And President Hopkins is a wonderful man. He's brilliant. And he is right. But the difference is we can't control Mother Nature. There was nothing that was going to stop that from coming last night," Kaufusi said. "We had concrete barriers around this chapel ready to break it, pushed it over like it was nothing. There was no stopping this one. So, we will work harder. We will do better. There's a developer, developing right up there that I think is making people a little nervous. But we're all going to be at the table at about 1:00 p.m. today to talk about it and get ready and prepared," Kaufusi said. That afternoon roundtable, with public works, fire and police officials, paved the way for further preventative protection measures, including collaboration with The U.S. Forest Service. Its Burn Area Emergency Response Teams will provide an assessment focusing on soil burn severity, and debris flow maps associated with the Buckley Draw fire. According to Provo City's Facebook page, more than 200 volunteers came out to help shovel and scrape up the mud left behind at the church. One woman's car parked outside the church was stuck in the mud. With the help of church leaders, neighbors and strangers, they were able to dig it out. Nearby properties also had damage from the debris flow. Heather Griggs said she and her husband watched the water fill up their yard incredibly fast on Wednesday night. Then, they saw mud and water seeping in through the garage." A cop came by around that time and said to kind of stay up just in case because the mud was still actively moving at that time," Griggs said. This morning, their driveway was coated in two to three inches of mud. They worked hard alongside friends, neighbors and strangers to push it into the street where sweepers came through to clean it up. Barnes said he's worried this could happen again. "I worry about next year in the springtime, or even later this year," he said. That's when the heavy, heavy rain falls. There's a concern that this could happen again with all of the damage that happened with the fire." Provo City Government said Nevada Avenue will remain closed. Slate Canyon Dr. was reopened, but will close again at 6 a.m. Friday, when cleanup resumes. They said final cleanup operations will start again on Tuesday, following Labor Day weekend.

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