How the city of Mapleton managed to avoid a flooding disaster
Jul 23, 2021, 7:31 AM | Updated: 8:00 am
Mapleton Fire
MAPLETON, Utah — The city of Mapleton managed to avoid a flooding disaster and major damage or injuries after 3/4 inch of rain fell in 45 minutes on Thursday. Officials said this is due to the city preparing and planning for such a situation.
Fire Chief Nicholas Glasgow said Mapleton was warned of the coming storm by the National Weather Service about 7:00 p.m on Thursday. Residents of 20 homes living in the Quiet Meadows subdivision and along 2000 East were able to evacuate before the storms hit. They were notified using the GroupMe app and an Everbridge alert. Also, police and firefighters went door-to- door. Evacuees were taken to a church at 2000 East and 1600 North.
When the rain hit, Glasgow said it brought down a lot of mud and debris.
“We had six to eight inches of mud,” Glasgow said. “We saw some rocks that were the size of basketballs, and some wood debris.”
Sandbags put in place ahead of time caught the mud flow and kept it in on the city streets instead of crashing downhill into homes.
City officials knew the burn scar from last year’s Ether Hollow wildfire left them vulnerable to flash flooding and debris flows. Fire Chief Nicholas Glasgow said they’ve had a number of volunteer sandbagging events. This preparation helped the city avoid a flooding disaster.
Evacuees were able to return to their homes around 11:30 p.m., Thursday night.
