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Draper » A wildfire last year, a mudslide this year.
After several days of slinging sandbags and digging a trench behind his home on Draper's Bear Ridge Cove to prevent more water from pouring into his basement, Frank Maylett jokes he's ready to take on the next punch Mother Nature throws his way.
"I'm looking forward to a tornado and a hurricane," Maylett said, as firefighters from the Unified Fire Authority and several neighbors continued to pile sandbags along the trench in Maylett's backyard.
Maylett and others battling a downhill flow of mud, rocks and water in the neighborhood kept a sense of humor Saturday, as heavy rains pummeled the area in the afternoon. The deluge created new flooding concerns for homes that had faced threats from flash flooding earlier in the week.
Late Saturday evening, few homes had been affected by the Saturday afternoon rain, said UFA Capt. Ken Aldridge. Most water had been contained to a drainage area in the neighborhood, he said. UFA stayed in the neighborhood around 2030 E. 1250 South for most of the evening, helping to build sandbag walls and monitor problem areas around homes.
Volunteers lined up around sand piles at Orson Smith Trail Park, 12601 S. Highland Drive, to pitch in with sandbagging efforts.
Nate Paulk, a junior at Alta High School, persuaded four of his buddies to fill sandbags Saturday night to help out at his girlfriend's
The boys joked around as they threw sandbags onto a truck, and said they gave up plans to build a treehouse to lend a hand.
Kindness from strangers made the sandbagging efforts easier to take, Maylett said. He said he was particularly touched by a 24-year-old who had come across news about his house on the Internet and showed up to help sandbag with another 28-year-old.
"We have great neighbors," Maylett said.
Bear Ridge Cove is one of several Draper neighborhoods in the Corner Canyon area that saw mountainsides east of them engulfed by a wildfire in September.
Maylett's home of 10 years was one that survived the fire and seemed to be on its way to surviving Saturday's mudslide, as neighbors worked to dig a trench to divert water from going into his home and to find the street.
The Mayletts' basement flooded Wednesday, causing one of their children to lose a bedroom and belongings. But they saw a victory in keeping more water out of the house on Saturday.
Despite a week of stress and sleepless nights, Shanna Maylett said the family is counting its blessings in knowing everyone is safe and healthy.
"We can make it through," she said.
Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.
A minor mudslide struck Draper on Saturday after about three-quarters of an inch of rain fell in the area. Draper police closed off Highland Drive 12500 South to 12600 South while sand trucks, firefighters and public-works officials worked to clean up the neighborhood.
The American Red Cross prepared to open a shelter at Juan Diego Catholic High School, 300 E. 11800 South in the event that people needed to evacuate their homes, but no one used the shelter Saturday, said Red Cross spokesman Kellen Holgate.
The Corner Canyon area near 2000 East and 12500 South is vulnerable to flash flooding and mudslides after a wildfire last September stripped vegetation from the mountainsides east of homes in the neighborhood.
