STOCKTON, Utah — It has been more than a year since the Jacob City fire burned an estimated 4,000 acres in Soldier Canyon.
Since that fire in July of 2022, Bucky Whitehouse, the Emergency Services Director for Tooele County says flooding in the area has gotten progressively worse.
"We don't have vegetation in place and when we get heavy rainstorms, it comes down slope and comes through this area at a very high, high pace, approximately 300 times faster than it normally would because of the fire," said Whitehouse. "Just this last summer, we actually had three episodes of flooding again."
A two-phase recovery project to improve Soldier Canyon and mitigate the impact of flooding in the area began last year.
The first phase included putting berms up by Stockton's Water Treatment Facility.
Starting last month, the first part of the second phase of the project got going with the construction of low-water crossings.
"We're adding some low water crossings to Copper Street on this particular area to channel the water through the area in a more efficient fashion and to also not put these homes that are right here at risk," said Whitehouse.
As well as another crossing near the home of Lonnie Bates, who has lived in Soldier Canyon for more than a decade.
He saw part of the road wash out due to flood waters back in August.
"If you get an inch to half an inch to three-quarters of an inch because of the burn area up above us, you're definitely going to have some high water coming down a canyon," said Bates.
Over the past few years, Bates has seen plenty of floods take place.
"We had that particular flood that happened in '21 that damaged or destroyed the basement, that same year we had two additional floods that came through and took out roads and this last spring we had a couple of more," said Bates.
Whitehouse says the Natural Resources Conservations Service (NRCS) is sponsoring about $900,000 of the total effort of the recovery and restoration side of improving the canyon after the fire.
He says Tooele County is putting up around $400,000 as well.
"In any event that we get an exceptional flow or that we get any kind of mutter debris that comes down slope and clogs that particular line, or if we get a flow that is too big, then it will come up over the road, stay within the parameters of the crossing here and then flow past this point," said Whitehouse.
Bates told FOX 13 News the county told him to expect and prepare for problems to continue in the canyon due to the burn scar for the next two to three years, as it recovers from the fire.
However, he said he is happy to see the work that is being done to help.
"Anything they can do to control it to keep it in the stream bed, it benefits us," said Bates.
Whitehouse says part one of the second phase of this project is set to be completed in the next two weeks.
He says they have set a deadline to finish the entire recovery project by January 9 of next year.
