Heavy rain causes temporary closure of Old Dixie Highway 91

ST. GEORGE — A large thunderstorm stalled above the west side of Gunlock Reservoir Monday night, dumping water into the Santa Clara River, causing the closure of Old Dixie Highway 91 for a few hours and flooding near the reservoir, according to Washington County officials.

Emergency services crews work prepping for potential debris and high water on the bridge at Gates Lane in Santa Clara Monday night, Santa Clara, Utah | Photo courtesy of Jason Bradley, Emergency Operations Manager
Washington County Emergency Services

Jason Whipple, Washington County Emergency Services Director, estimates the water flow was 1,000 cubic feet per second. Officers were watching Old Dixie Highway 91 at mile marker 18 where it had a surge at the Santa Clara river.

In addition to water, mud and rocks flooded the highway and closed the road from 7:30-11:30 p.m. while road crews cleaned up the debris. He added that the water flow on the highway extended nearly down to the state line to Nevada.

“So there was a lot of water. And there’s a lot of concern just because you know some things happened in the past with flooding,” Whipple said. “We had water that got up on the road between where Highway 91 and Gunlock Reservoir is. So on that road where it gets close to the river, there was water that came up on the road for a brief period of time and that receded pretty quickly.”

Whipple said that the Manganese Wash Road Bridge crosses the Santa Clara River had water that came up to it and flowed around it and took out some of the edges of the road but it was still passable. There were reports of parts of the Motoqua Road being washed out past the cattle guard and Whipple said they will be checking on the area further.

A rainstorm caused the temporary closure of Old Dixie Highway 91, Utah, Aug. 15, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Washington County Emergency Services, St. George News

“After 2005 and 2010, when we had the big floods that devastated houses and caused some havoc, people are really sensitive to these rivers getting up and flooding,” Whipple said. “And you get that little bit of urgency responding to these things. We try to get on top of it quickly. But a lot of times, it ends up being just a normal kind of flooding in a river stuff that we’ve had for years. So it’s good that we want to keep an eye on it and make sure nothing happens. Some of the mitigation work done after 2005 and 2010 has started to pay off.”

Responding agencies included Washington Emergency Services, Washington County Public Works, Enterprise Fire Department, Gunlock Fire and Santa Clara- Ivins Fire Department. The St. George Fire Department also responded to keep an eye on if the flood waters were going to reach the Green Valley area, which Whipple said did not.

St. George Fire Chief said they like being proactive in potential flooding situations. They also want to monitor what is happening with all area agencies so they can be prepared. Stoker reminded the public that they need to keep their distance in an emergency. Stoker said roads might look safe to stand on, but the ground underneath it may be washed away.

The Santa Clara-Ivins Fire and Rescue Management Officer Lance Haynie said his department had crews staged in the area in preparation for potential damages.

“Luckily, the night proved to be uneventful for our cities,” Haynie said.

Additionally, according to a post on the Gunlock State Park Facebook page:

Another storm rolled through last night and dumped on us again. Not much flood damage but it did bring debris into the lake. Boaters be cautious and as always look out for things in the water. We will keep working on keeping the boat ramp clear.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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