SALT LAKE CITY — Governor Spencer Cox pledged state support to help Beaver rebuild after catastrophic flash flooding over the weekend.
Speaking to reporters on Monday at an event at the Days of '47 Rodeo, the governor said he has been speaking with the community's mayor and county commissioners. The flooding followed the massive Cottonwood Fire, which destroyed property and a ski resort in the area "but this was bigger than anybody anticipated."
"I said, 'You’re going to have a couple of weeks of hell with this fire, and then you’re going to have five-to-six years of hell with everything that comes after it.' We knew the rains would come, they always do. We were expecting something like this. You just never know how big it’s going to be," Gov. Cox said.
The governor said fortunately, no one was killed in the flooding in Beaver. He said Utah's Division of Emergency Management and other state agencies are already responding. There is infrastructure loss and water systems that have been compromised, but Gov. Cox predicted they would be able to get those repaired quickly. He said the state had also been in communication with FEMA for relief.
Still, the governor warned of more flooding in the coming days.
"We have more raining coming in the next four days. There could be more flooding. We anticipate that's possible. It's all-hands-on-deck," he said.
