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Task Force 1 returns to Utah after helping out in Colorado

Posted at 9:10 AM, Sep 21, 2013
and last updated 2013-09-21 12:58:09-04

A Utah Search and Rescue Team returned home Friday night after helping residents evacuate from flash floods in Colorado.

A large convey carrying "Utah Task Force One" pulled up to the Unified Fire Logistics Center in West Jordan just before 9:30 p.m.

On Sept. 12, more than nine inches of rain fell in the mountains north of Denver, destroying roads and filling homes with mud in Boulder County.  Lefthand Canyon, which leads to communities such as Jamestown and Lyons, Colo., was especially hard hit.

The day after the flood hit, Utah Task Force One deployed to those towns to go door-to-door and encourage residents to evacuate.  The task force also teamed up with engineers to inspect homes and determine whether they were in danger of collapsing.

Unified Captain Clint Mecham says the team evacuated a couple hundred residents and when many others decided to stay in their homes, crews brought them food, water & basic medical supplies.

The task force had enough supplies to stay for 10 there but returned after a week since search operations are complete and local crews now begin a long clean-up.  Similar teams from Nebraska, Nevada and Missouri are also returning home.