Moab ready for weekend of visitors following last Saturday’s flood

MOAB, Utah — After nearly a week of non-stop cleanup and debris removal, Moab officials and businesses are ready to welcome back the crowds this weekend.

“You’ll be surprised how little you’ll be impacted if you come to town,” said Annie McVay, the parks, recreation and trails director for Moab.

McVay said city crews and volunteers have been working hard to make sure that visitors could return and enjoy the area after last Saturday’s flooding along Mill Creek that sent water and debris down Main Street.

Damage estimates rising in Moab after weekend flooding event

“A lot of our trail system is back open,” she said. “On a couple stretches through town, they’ll have to use sidewalks and roadways and not the trail.”

She said it was a group effort to clear the mud, branches and downed trees from the parks and trails.

“It was amazing the community support,” McVay said. “Throughout town, people just came out in droves to help out.”

After this cleanup is over, McVay said they plan to do long-term planning for Mill Creek and flood mitigation.

Moab cleans up after flood, prepares for future rain

Visitors to Moab told KSL TV that their trips are going as planned and they aren’t experiencing any lingering issues from the flash flood.

“It’s been really hot for me, but it’s great,” said Lorena Crosasso from Seattle. “It’s beautiful. It’s just a different kind of beauty.”

Crosasso said they heard about the flood from news reports and called ahead to make sure they could still visit.

“We were reassured everything was good,” she said.

Crosasso didn’t have to alter her plans and arrived Thursday and quickly visited Arches National Park that evening.

“I would say come,” she said. “Everything is open. There’s maybe a couple places, but they’re supposed to open soon.”

On Thursday, the city restored water to the final homes and businesses that had been without service since the flood.

One of the co-owners of Spitfire BBQ said it was difficult to lose a week of business.

“I mean, it’s rough,” said Zach Bynum. “It’s not a great time to be closed but it is what it is.”

Bynum said they worked to clean the restaurant by using hoses from neighbors who had water.

“The main thing is that it’s all just muddy water, so it took a ton of cleaning and re-cleaning and hosing,” he said.

With water service now restored, Bynum is hoping to reopen as soon as this weekend once he gets the go-ahead from the water department.

“Come on down,” Bynum said to potential visitors. “September’s the best time of year in Moab in general. It’s not as hot. It’s a great time of year.”