'Pretty exhausted': Utah communities seek federal flood help after emergency declaration

SALT LAKE CITY — An emergency declaration issued by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on Friday will allow the state to mobilize additional resources to support local recovery efforts and request federal and interstate assistance if needed.

The state of emergency impacts San Juan and Washington counties, where flooding has caused significant damage to homes, interrupted the availability of drinking water, and blocked travel routes.

For Bluff Mayor Josh Ewing, the declaration comes as his community faces an enormous recovery effort.

"It has felt like the one, two, three, four punch," said Ewing. "A lot of us are pretty exhausted, to be honest. But we're taking care of our neighbors. We're doing what rural people do. We're fixing things up the best we can."

Before Friday's announcement, Ewing had called on state leaders to pursue a disaster declaration that could help bring federal resources to the region.

"These are not five-figure, six-figure problems. These are seven, eight-figure problems," said Ewing. "In my view, it's high time for a disaster declaration that might pull down federal resources."

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Ewing noted that the damage affects more than Bluff. State Route 163 is an important route for emergency services and tourism, including access to Monument Valley. At the time of publication S.R. 163 remained closed and will be closed indefinitely, according to UDOT.

He also expressed concern about damaged flood-control berms near Montezuma Creek, saying federal assistance from agencies such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could be important in preventing future flooding.

While Friday's declaration gives Utah additional options for responding to the disaster, it does not automatically guarantee federal funding or financial assistance for individual homeowners and businesses.

That distinction is especially important for families who have lost homes or suffered significant property damage.

During a visit to San Juan County earlier this week, Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson acknowledged the challenges of helping individual flood victims.

"There is not a lot of state resources for individuals for these types of flooding events, unfortunately," said Henderson. "That's the devastation that we've seen over and over when these sorts of things happen in our state."

Henderson said the state is working to address damaged infrastructure, but she also emphasized the importance of community support for displaced families.

"We're hoping that people in the state of Utah, out of the goodness of their hearts, donate supplies and other things to help the displaced families down here," she said. "There's a lot of need for that."

In Bluff, Ewing said volunteers have already been helping neighbors clean up and recover.

The Bluff Community Foundation is also raising money to assist with local needs, although the mayor acknowledged those donations can only go so far.

"We're going to do the best we can with all we can," he said. But that only goes so far unless we get some billionaires to give money."