Despite flooding, Garden City thankful for the ice still on Bear Lake

GARDEN CITY, Utah — A state of emergency was called for Garden City, Utah, on Sunday after multiple areas of active flooding were reported.

By Monday morning the state of emergency continued Mayor Mike Leonhardt told KSL NewsRadio. He also said that things there could be worse.

 

“We still have feet and feet and feet of snow,” Leonhardt said. “And we’re only hitting temperatures of about 50 degrees.

Leonhardt said there are still 15 inches of ice on Bear Lake, and Garden City officials are grateful for that.

“Because the lake is still frozen, it’s actually kept us cooler … if we were another 10 degrees warmer, if that lake was unthawed, we would be in even bigger trouble than we are now.”

Still, since the declaration of emergency on Sunday, Leonhardt said two more areas of flooding appeared in the south end of Garden City.

 (Video provided by Garden City Mayor Mark Leonhardt)

A major concern for Leonhardt is reaching people who may have a second home in Garden City.

“I mean, we have a home last night that was flooded out … there were no sandbags around it,” he said.

Leonhardt estimates that between 75 and 80% of the homes in Garden City belong to second homeowners.

Related reading: Assume any flood water you see is contaminated, Utah officials say

 

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