Death toll rises to 12 in Utah flash flood; 1 still missing

David DeMille | The (St. George, Utah) Spectrum

Show Caption Hide Caption Deadly flash floods sweep up cars along Utah-Arizona border Deadly flash floods swept through the Utah-Arizona border towns of Colorado City and Hildale. It's unclear whether the vehicles in this video were occupied when they were caught in the current.

HILDALE, Utah — The death toll in a flash flood that reportedly washed away several vehicles in southern Utah has increased to 12 people, authorities said Tuesday.

One person was still missing, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said, and fire and public works crews continued to search flood crossings and the banks of Short Creek.

On Monday, several vehicles were reportedly swept into waterways after heavy rains hit at approximately 5 p.m. MT, including two vehicles that had been carrying at least 16 people in Maxwell Canyon north of the city, said Kevin Barlow, assistant fire chief. The victims included women and small children, all from the Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah, area. The towns are adjacent to each other across the state line.

A large contingent of contractors worked through the night, using heavy equipment to clear thousands of tons of mud and debris from the Central Street creek crossing.

Rain continued throughout the night, causing flooding to continue, according to the Washington County, Utah, Sheriff’s Office.

In the grey light of dawn Tuesday, a squadron of backhoes and earth movers cleared huge mounds of debris along Short Creek in the heart of Colorado City.

Beneath floodlights, women in long prairie dresses, small children and other residents of the mostly polygamous community stood in rainfall or peered over walls, grim-faced. A drone aircraft hovered and swooped overhead, its green light flashing.

The crumpled remains of a white vehicle that had already been removed laid nearby, evidence of the flash flood's onslaught of mud, trees and water.

Nearby at Hildale Town Hall on the Utah side of the state line, search and rescue teams and a cadaver dog prepared for a second day to look for survivors or the remains of the casualties.

Investigators said six of the dead were located in Utah and the other two were found in Arizona, more than 2 miles downstream. Late Tuesday morning, the sheriff of Washington County announced another body had been found but details were not available.

One survivor was hospitalized overnight, according to the sheriff’s office.

The victims were from several families and included women and small children, the youngest of which was 4, Barlow said. All were from the Colorado City and Hildale area on the Utah-Arizona border.

The group had been visiting a municipal park and debated whether to cross Maxwell Canyon to return to town. They were in the process of backing out, Barlow said, when witnesses described a massive flash flood that pushed two vehicles into a flood channel, washing them several hundred yards downstream.

"This wall of water just way out of the channel came up behind them and pushed them in," he said. The water was "far beyond its banks" and the flooding was "far more significant that we're seen for a long time," Barlow said.

Barlow said he didn't know how many of the deceased were children.

Video shows a white box truck or van and a dark green Chevy Suburban in Hildale, just upstream from the creek crossing, waiting for the flow to subside. Within seconds, the water roils and rises like magma, full of mud and debris. It climbs over the road and across yards and up against walls of homes. At the same time, it lifts and spins the two vehicles at the crossing into the current, then throws them over a waterfall into a 50-foot-deep ravine. Virginia Black, who shot video of the flood, said she knew there were people in the vehicles.

“You could see the brake lights coming on as they were spinning around,” she said.

Black is heard on the video talking with her two daughters who were at the house and her husband on the phone as the flash flood progresses. She grows increasingly horrified.

“Oh, my goodness, it’s in John’s yard. ... Oh no, it’s coming to ours. … Oh, no, there’s two vehicles,” she is heard saying.

After those two vehicles disappeared, the water rose further into neighboring yards, throwing several vehicles against trees. Then the water picked up a white Dodge Neon, carried it through the Blacks' front yard and over into the chasm.

As the water swept against her residence, Black said, ”We could feel the house shaking from all the water coming around it.”

Neither her house nor the neighboring residence suffered serious flood damage.

As of 11 p.m. Monday there had been seven confirmed dead, with six people missing.

Multiple agencies were on scene trying to assist, including swiftwater search and rescue team members.

The National Weather Service had issued a flash flood warning for the area at the time, indicating that heavy storm clouds were moving into the area from the south.

Pete Wilensky, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City, said radar estimates indicated a pocket west of Hildale saw about 2.5 inches of rain over the course of two separate storm cells, one which passed through at about 3 p.m. and the other after 5 p.m.

The second storm was the stronger of the two, and with rivers already on the rise from the previous storm it exacerbated the flooding issues, Wilensky said.

“You put an inch or so of rain on top of that in a short period of time and everything went nuts,” he said.

Estimates across the area indicated between 1 inch and 1.5 inches fell, raising water levels in Zion National Park and other areas.

Park service officials reported issues with rock slides, mud and other issues on the roads as the storm moved across the park.

The Hildale community served as a home base for polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs. Members of the sect, whose members believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven, are believed to be discouraged from watching TV, using the Internet or having much contact with the outside world.

Barlow said he didn't know whether residents were aware of the flash flood warning.

In a statement, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert indicated that his office was working with local governments to provide aid.

"I am heartbroken to hear of the recent tragedy in Washington County," he said. "The State of Utah has offered its full resources to the town of Hildale to aid with the search and rescue effort. The Governor's Office and Department of Public Safety are in close communication with local government and public safety officials in the affected area."

Contributing: Dennis Wagner, The Arizona Republic; The Associated Press.