LOGAN – The National Weather Service is projecting warmer temperatures this week with more chances of rain in the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, adding to already-swollen rivers from snow melt. Several rivers in Northern Utah are overflowing at various points, including Bear River, Blacksmith Fork River, Little Bear River and Logan River.
In Box Elder County, the Garland City culinary water treatment plant was finally mitigated Wednesday afternoon and there are no problems at this point. It was previously impacted by flooding along the Bear River and was required to pump overflow from the treatment facility. According to the NWS, the Bear River continues to remain high below Cutler Reservoir and will slowly rise to near universal flood stage by this weekend. It has already crested its banks at several points, flooding low-lying agricultural lands near the Great Salt Lake.
Several flood watches and warnings are in effect in Cache County. The Bureau of Reclamation, Utah Division of Water Resources, and Cache County continue to actively monitor the Hyrum Dam for potential high-flow releases into the Little Bear River. Flooding is most likely to occur in Paradise along the Little Bear River, but also in low-lying areas in Hyrum, Wellsville and Mendon down stream. The river will continue to peak near flood stage through early next week. Agricultural land in northern Cache County and at various points throughout Franklin County are experiencing areas of flooding along the Bear River.
The Blacksmith Fork River is already impacting Creek Side RV Park in Logan, but rising temperatures this week will cause increased snowmelt to occur and affect more locations along the river. At 7.6 feet (1198 cubic feet per second), NWS is reporting that flooding along select homes in Blacksmith Fork Canyon will occur. Additionally, homes in the Country Manor subdivision in Logan will also be affected. On Wednesday morning, the stage was 6.9 feet. The river is expected to remain above action stage through Friday morning, gradually decreasing below action stage over the weekend.
Flooding along Bear River in Rich County in Utah and Uintah County in Wyoming continue to impact agricultural areas and low-lying roadways, particularly below Woodruff Narrows Reservoir northward to the Utah/Wyoming border west of Sage Junction, Wyoming. The Bear River is expected to remain high in Randolph, Woodruff and other areas until further notice.
The Logan Ranger District of Uintah-Wasatch-Cache National Forest is also reporting high water levels along the Logan River, particularly at 2nd Dam in Logan Canyon. “The Second Dam Day Use Area is closed to all pedestrian, equestrian, bicycle, and any type of motorized vehicle for public safety due to extreme flooding,” the organization shared on Twitter. They also shared several pictures of the campground under water.