Flooding washes out Top of Utah recreation spots

It’s not just farming and business that will take a hit from existing and predicted flooding in the Top of Utah. The recreation and tourism industries also likely will be affected.

Proof is in the high waters at Fort Buenaventura at 2450 A Avenue in Ogden, damage to the Old Snowbasin Road and a continued closure of Farmington Canyon Road.

“A lot of revenue will be lost,” said Weber County Parks and Recreation Manager Jim Carter.

Weber County workers scrambled Wednesday to stave off damages to the Oxbow river channel that has a low bank at about 5700 West and 1150 South in West Weber, where millions of dollars in businesses and farms were at stake.

At the same time, Carter continued his watch over Fort Buenaventura to keep damage to a minimum at the central Ogden attraction, and police were enforcing a no-travel policy on Farmington Canyon Road.

While it appears that Fort Buenaventura may be closed throughout the summer, Carter remains hopeful that the Mountain Man Rendezvous, an annual Easter event that was flooded out, will be able to continue as rescheduled for July 15-17.

“It’s probably not going to be. I’m trying to stay as positive as possible, hoping that things turn around.”

Regarding activities planned at the fort almost daily through spring and summer, Carter said he and his staff were rescheduling and rerouting as many as possible, including the annual Ogden Friends of Acoustic Music Festival, which is taking place this weekend at North Fork Park in Liberty.

Also of concern for area tourism and recreation prospects is the recent approximately $500,000 in damage to Old Snowbasin Road caused by flooding.

The road was listed in a report issued by Weber County Emergency Management and Homeland Security Director Lance Peterson to Gov. Gary Herbert as he toured Weber County on Tuesday.

The report listed events such as the Wasatch Back Relay, Xterra Race and Dew Tour Triathlon, which all use the road, as being at risk.

Steve Fielding, a part-time maintenance worker at Fort Buenaventura, said the waters there are as high as they were in the infamous flood year of 1983, when floodwaters and mudslides caused millions of dollars in damage locally and the community scrambled to help those whose homes and property were affected.

Fielding was the manager at the fort at that time and until 2000 when it was no longer run by the state.

Fielding said damage to the park is being kept to a minimum by improvements such as a dike and a raised bank on the pond, made in the 1980s.

But Fielding believes more work will be needed at the park to avoid future damage.

“This is probably the start of a high water cycle,” he said, noting his observance of such phenomenon in the 1960s and 1980s.

Also worried about the cost of flooding Wednesday was Marriott-Slaterville Mayor Keith Butler.

On Monday, an executive order was issued by Marriott-Slaterville, declaring the flooding a local emergency and allowing the mayor to implement emergency powers.

The order called upon multijurisdictional and state agencies for aid, anticipating the need for federal resources.

However, Butler said Wednesday that he doubted his city would be reimbursed for expenses such as sandbags and other efforts to help residents combat the problem.

“If the truth be known, everybody’s broke,” Butler said. “We’re just hoping we can get some reimbursement for it down the stream.”

Also Wednesday, Davis County residents were feeling the effects of 5.3 inches of rain in Farmington during May, including snow Sunday night.

A third rock slide Monday was keeping Farmington Canyon Road closed Wednesday.

But this slide will keep the road closed for an undetermined length of time until the canyon is deemed to be safe, said Davis County Sheriff’s Sgt. Susan Poulsen.

On Monday, crews almost had the second rock slide cleared and anticipated opening the canyon road this coming weekend — then the third slide came down.

Anyone caught in the road closure area will be cited, as were a couple this weekend who ventured into the area.

No one was venturing into Fort Buenaventura this week as even parking to the area remained flooded.

Sue Barker, owner of the Traders’ Row shop that has operated for a number of years at the fort, said she stands to lose a major investment in inventory should the water rise beyond a point that Weber County workers can manage.

“The county is really doing everything they can,” she said. “They are very cognizant of the losses I could incur. I just hope it is enough.”

Barker said she remains pretty pessimistic about what’s going to happen in the next couple of weeks, as floodwaters likely will rise.

Standard-Examiner reporter Loretta Park contributed to this article.