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SALT LAKE CITY — Several homeless people found themselves trapped when heavy, overnight rain in the Salt Lake Valley caused the Jordan River to overflow Wednesday morning, officials said.
"We had a couple of people who went to bed last night and woke up this morning to find water encroaching upon their campsite," Salt Lake Fire Capt. Dan Marlowe said.
Homeless people often illegally camp near 288 N. 1460 West in an area that is designed to flood when the river overflows its banks, Marlowe said.
Those on the banks Tuesday night continued to move their camps further back to avoid the approaching water but were physically unable to extricate themselves, he said. They were finally able to call the attention of a passerby who alerted the fire department early Wednesday morning.
Officials quickly responded and found the people in water 3-feet deep. Crews pulled them out of the water and requested medical attention, Marlowe said.
Responders then biked through the area to make sure no one else was trapped and evacuated others from the transient camps dotting the banks of the river.
Marlowe said it usually falls to police in the area to warn or extricate similar camps in cases like this. He urged all those in the area to be cautious around the river banks.
"If you were to enter the water, it would be difficult to get out," he added.
Overnight rain has caused the Jordan River to overflow in several locations, resulting in the evacuation of people living in low lying areas along the banks. Use caution along the river today, it is flowing much faster than usual for this time of year. pic.twitter.com/3ydqxl2J6J
— Salt Lake City Fire Department (@slcfire) October 10, 2018
Contributing: Nick Wyatt, KSL Newsradio
