MOUNTAIN GREEN, Utah — Residents of two Mountain Green homes were evacuated Sunday following a mudslide that left the buildings unsafe.
Mountain Green firefighters first responded to the area at 5500 block of Mountain View Drive on Sunday afternoon due to a partial slide on the hillside. The slide had been creeping along for a few days after starting on Friday.
On Sunday, fire crews and neighborhood residents attempted to dig drainage trenches to relieve water buildup.
However, later Sunday night, the hillside slid even further and into the rear of one home, leaving the fire chief to determine that it was unsafe for residents.
"The first part of it was coming down, almost missed the front of his house. the second part started breaking right towards his home in the back corner," said neighbor Phil Ralphs.
A home next door was also evacuated until it can be cleared by the U.S. Geological Survey and a county engineer.
"We were very fortunate so far and I'm hoping, fingers crossed, that we don't get any structural damage," said Chief Brian Brendel with the Mountain Green Fire Protection District.
The residents of the home, along with neighborhood volunteers, were able to remove some belongings, but even thought proved hazardous.
"We had 50 people on the scene that were helping remove belongings and they were placed in people's garages and in trailers and was crazy, but we had to kind of shut it down," said Brendel who added that the county engineer was concerned about another slide.
Firefighters were able to remove most of the belongings that were left, along with dealing with gas lines before clearing the scene.
Rain in the forecast for Tuesday is causing some concerns, leading to sandbags being placed in the area of the mudslide. A lookout has been posted to the hill and an evacuation plan is in place should another slide occur.
"I think we're just at the beginning because of the epic amount of snow that we have had," warned Brendel, "just crazy amounts to double what most people had ever expected here."
