MOAB, Utah — When flood waters ripped through parts of Moab in late August, the devastation stretched beyond businesses and homes.
“You know personally this is how my kids get to school and a lot of kids in town and this is how a lot of people get to work and avoid the traffic of Main Street,” said Colin Topper, Chair of the Grand County Trail Mix, an advisory board to the Grand County Commission focusing on all things ‘non-motorized’.
Colin was referencing the Mill Creek Parkway, a stretch of concrete that runs along Mill Creek allowing for easier access throughout town for bicyclists and pedestrians. “We are just putting absolutely the tiniest dent in it right now.”
On Wednesday night, roughly few dozen volunteers banded together to pull debris from the banks of the creek. They also cleared the Mill Creek Parkway and worked to discard debris left behind from the flooding.
“This is absolutely the silver lining of the event and bringing people together,” said Topper.
Volunteers from the community came out either in groups or as families to lend a helping hand. About 10 employees from an area Wyndham hotel banded together to join the community effort on Wednesday night.
Another motel owner came to help with the cleanup after the community came to his aid immediately following the flood.
“The day after the flooding we lost our property the whole community came out,” said John Knight. “We probably had 75 people helping us and we have a lot of cleanup work that needs to happen so so we’re just going to keep digging us out until we’re done.”
Knight owns a small 10-room motel. He says that at least six of those rooms are still uninhabitable and he’s unsure about the future of his property.
“A lot of working, a lot of tears, a lot of sweating, lot of miracles have occurred over the last few weeks,” said Knight. “But it has been an extremely stressful time not only for us and our family but for the whole community.”
Knight and other volunteers want people the know that Moab is very much so open for business.
Other businesses such as Dewey’s Restaurant, which was badly flooded, reopened just before Labor Day after being closed for 10 days.
“We need your help, you know if you have time, come help us, we’ve opened our arms to the world over the last several years and we need peoples help to come and rebuild,” said Knight.
