Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
FOUNTAIN GREEN, Sanpete County — Leaders in Fountain Green, Sanpete County, are getting a clearer picture of the damage after a major weekend flood.
As of Thursday afternoon, Mayor Mark Coombs told KSL-TV, the city had identified 167 homes that were impacted by flooding, with another 126 that still needed to be assessed.
All told, Coombs estimated 50-60% of homes in Fountain Green – which has a population of just over a thousand people – sustained some damage from the flood Sunday that occurred when 3 inches of rain fell in just one hour.
"It's a good chunk of the town," Coombs said.
As people clean up, the city is receiving some unexpected donations to help those who need to fix their damaged homes. Two companies have reached out to provide Sheetrock to Fountain Green families – all for free.
A representative of one of those companies, who asked not to be identified because he doesn't want any credit for the donation, told KSL-TV his construction supply firm plans to send a semi's worth of Sheetrock to Fountain Green next week.
"It's the least we can do," he said. "I hope it helps them out – helps them out a little bit – and helps them get past this tragedy."
Others have reached out to offer money and supplies to help the community recover, Coombs said.
'Where do I get started?'
Bobbi and David Hughes-Millman are some of those impacted by the flood. Their basement filled with water during Sunday's storm. They had recently finished a renovation of their house.
"We finally felt like we could relax," Bobbi Hughes-Millman said tearfully. "You don't think that you have to start all over with your house having to fix all of this again."
David Hughes-Millman is an artist. A lot of his work was damaged or destroyed.
"It's chaos," he said of the flood. "And then when you try to think, 'OK, I've got to get started,' where do I get started?"
Now everyone is trying to dry out. The flood even hit the city library, closing it down and shuttering after-school programs.
And there's more rain possible on Friday.
"We're hoping that it doesn't rain," Coombs said. "We just wanted to be as prepared as we could. We've put out a lot of sandbags to try to divert the water away from the homes so they don't get hit again."
This will be a long cleanup. Both the city of Fountain Green and Sanpete County have declared natural disasters, and they hope to get some resources from the state.
For now, though, they're relying on volunteers and kindness.
"That shows you the spirit of the people that live in Utah," Coombs said.
