'Stay aware': Willard Peak Fire neighborhood now on flood watch

NORTH OGDEN — North Ogden city leaders are keeping a close eye on the hillside after the Willard Peak Fire left a sizeable burn scar. North Ogden city officials said the time to prepare is right now. Emergency manager Casey Hunsaker said in an email, if you see a lot of water coming off a hill, stay away. We spoke to some families living in the Mason Cove subdivision. It's the neighborhood that, just two weeks earlier had evacuations while the Willard Peak Fire burned. That fire left a huge burn scar on the hillside. With these monsoonal rains in the forecast, officials are on high alert. Hunsaker said they're watching for potential erosion or land movement in this area. He said they have monitoring points on the hillside to watch for potential movement. Homeowner Josh Sawyer said city officials came to his house and warned them to be prepared for the rain. His house backs up to where the fire burned. "They did mention that there's potential for water to swiftly move down the mountain and we want to mitigate that as much as we can," Sawyer said. He said he placed several sandbags along his property. Hunsaker said the city has given out 250-300 sandbags so far. "I think we've done everything we can to prepare for it, and we know that that's kind of the risk of living in this type of an area next to the mountainside. Fires," Sawyer said. "And it's okay. It's all right. We're good." There is a risk for flooding. In an email to KSL, Hunsaker wrote: "According to the projections that we have received from NWS, we don't foresee more than 10 homes in the Mason Cove Subdivision being affected by flooding. There are other homes that could be affected, bur this Subdivision is where the highest risk is according to projections." Gavin Hendricksen lives in that subdivision. She didn't know that many homes could be at risk. "That's kind of frightening, so I guess we'll just dig deep for the next event," she said. She said she's grateful for the rain, but thinks the city needs to bring out more sandbags. In the meantime, the neighbors have been out helping each other. "I think all of our heads have been on a swivel, and, it's really brought our community closer," Hendricksen said. "Everyone's just been watching out for one another. We've been on a text chain." Hunsaker said city officials talked to homeowners who could be most impacted by flooding. He said the threat doesn't end here, and the area will be be monitored through the spring runoff season. "The hydrology studies that we have received from the National Weather Service and Utah Department of Emergency Management have given us some insight into how they expect any flooding to flow," he wrote.

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