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HUNTINGTON — A mudslide has blocked 10 miles of state Road 31 in Central Utah as a result of the fire in Seely last summer and recent heavy thunderstorms.
Utah Department of Transportation is unsure when SR31 will reopen. In a massive effort, crews finished cleaning the logs, rocks and mud off the highway after yesterday's heavy thunderstorm, but UDOT is keeping the road closed as a precaution.
So far no serious flash floods have occurred in the canyon. But Bob Davidson, Watershed Manager with the U.S. National Forest Service, said the dangers from flash flooding will remain a threat through the summer and fall, because heavy thunderstorms can quickly develop.
"When the systems flood, they'll come with debris flows, and it can be a life-threatening situation," Davidson said. "Don't camp in the entrance on canyons, don't camp in campgrounds that are on flood plains downstream from these areas, because that could be a life threatening situation."
Remediation efforts after the Seely fire began last fall and continue this summer, but soil engineers warn that it will take time for the land to recover.
"We just have to let things heal up and let Mother Nature do her thing and we'll get our forest back," Davidson said.
