'Now it's our turn': Community rallying around police chief after Hurricane flooding

HURRICANE, Washington County — Community members are coming together to help Utah Tech University Police Chief Wes LiCalzi and his family, who are displaced following the devastating flooding that tore through their Hurricane neighborhood Friday.

"Licalzi has spent years protecting and serving our community. Now it's our turn to show up for him and his family," said neighbor and colleague Sarah Strickley.

LiCalzi has been the police chief at the university since 2020, and a police officer since 2008. He and his wife, Tatiana LiCalzi, have three children, and according to Strickley, they have lived in their home for "at least 15 years."

"Friday, we were all on the corner watching it flood in," Strickley recalled. "We had both come home from work, and I looked at him and said, 'How's your house?' and he said, 'I don't even know what to do. The water came into the wells and busted all my windows and completely flooded my basement.'"

Strickley, who runs the Hurricane Education Center and the police academy, and who is also the president of the local Chamber of Commerce, said that she initially got the family in contact with a restoration company. Bad news soon followed, when Wes LiCalzi was told he needed to pay $2,500 for the company to finish the job.

The news got much worse when he learned that he didn't have flood insurance.

"He's like, 'I don't even know if I can salvage my house,'" Strickley recounted. "So, in the mix of that, everything that's getting hauled from downstairs is now ruining the upstairs floor. All their belongings, their childhood and children's belongings are damaged. His wife was out separating everything she could salvage from childhood memories."

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Due to all the damage, the family cannot stay in their home and has been staying in a dorm at Utah Tech University. Also, because the restoration company is unable to work on the home without payment, the community has stepped in to aid in cleaning efforts.

"Yesterday, members in the neighborhood all showed up, and there were buckets of mud," Strickley said. "There were pumps that were pumping out water. We ripped cabinets out, and we started cutting off the drywall."

On Monday, Wes LiCalzi was at work swearing in a new police officer.

"He does so much for the community," Strickley said. "The least we can do is give back to him and his family."

A GoFundMe* has been set up to help the LiCalzi family during their time of need.

*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.

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