ST. GEORGE — The flood of 2005 destroyed homes, gobbled family possessions, disrupted lives and caused millions of dollars in damage.
But it did much more than that. The once-in-a-lifetime event also separated longtime neighbors and friends forever, forcing best friends who once shot the breeze over the backyard fence to recall better days when the river was not their enemy.
It inspired thousands of people to help out in countless ways, from loading and stacking sandbags to clearing out condemned houses, to offering free lodging and meals to displaced families, to producing a documentary and book that chronicles one of southern Utah's most devastating natural disasters.
Their stories and photos are now compiled in a unique, perfect bound, 135-page, full-color book entitled, "Portraits of Loss, Stories of Hope; The 2005 Santa Clara-Virgin River Flood." The entire project, including a DVD that records the historical event, was conceived, developed, produced and printed within a 30-day time frame.
Ten thousand copies of the book were printed, and 2,000 DVDs were made. All earnings from the sale of this project will be given to local flood victims who apply for assistance through the Virgin River/Santa Clara Flood Relief Fund, a nonprofit 501c3 organization. A donation of at least $35 is suggested to purchase the pair, although most donations are around $100, the organizers said.
"One day after the floods, I walked around and heard these incredible stories," said Lon Henderson, who chaired the effort to produce the book. "When time goes by, memories fade. It was important that we record them."
Within a day after the floodwaters receded, a committee was formed and volunteers began interviewing those most affected by the floods. Their stories were transcribed and given to Lyman Hafen, who served as editor. Thousands of photos were submitted through a Web site set up by local Internet provider, InfoWest.
"The whole thing was a lot more distressing than I thought it would be," said photo editor Nick Adams, who spent four days reviewing and selecting photos for the book. "I had to close my business for a week to do this, but my clients were very understanding about it."
Adams lives in a Green Valley subdivision along the Santa Clara River and watched homes across the street literally drop off into the raging waters.
"I just had this primal urge to sort of carry my camera everywhere and take pictures," he said. "It's probably because of all my years of working at the newspaper. I remember seeing photos I wanted to shoot, but I had to put my camera down so I could help people."
Helping people save their homes and possessions came second nature for many people living in Utah's Dixie.
"It is incredible that this Dixie spirit is what it is," said St. George councilman Larry Gardner, a member of the book committee. "We formed to do the impossible. It was an intense course of action, but we never doubted it could be done."
To put this "miracle" into perspective, Hafen said he normally schedules 18 months to produce a book with the same specs and number of photos included in the flood book.
"We had some incredible partners. We could have taken our time, but we set a self-imposed deadline to take advantage of a window of time that exists," Hafen said. "We wanted to take advantage of the enthusiasm of the volunteers, so we just dived into it for a couple of weeks and got it done."
Seventeen press checks were conducted over a three-day period at Paragon Press, said Jamie Airmet, an account representative who oversaw the book's publication.
"Normally, Lyman gives me six months on a project and I get to charge him too much and be mad at the quality," joked Airmet, who drove the finished product from the publisher to St. George Thursday. "I'm just amazed at everyone who participated and what they've done. People up north definitely felt the need and sent their love."
Among the northern Utah businesses that donated ink, paper and services were Graphic Ink, Unisource Paper and Advantage Book Binding, he said.
Village Bank, Sun First Bank, Far West Bank, State Bank of Southern Utah, and Soltis Investment Advisors each donated $10,000 to finance the hard costs of publishing the book.
"When you read this book, you will see so many coincidences," said Henderson, who first came up with the idea to document the disaster. "Someone said once that a coincidence is really a small miracle where God prefers to remain anonymous. There are a lot of small miracles that happened here."
R. Leon Bowler of Enterprise and an employee of Dixie Escalante Power produced a check for $5,000 to purchase five books at Thursday's council meeting. The money was donated by the power cooperative, he said.
"I'm still amazed that it came together like this," Airmet said. "We had guys showing up at 2:30 in the morning just to run machines for this book. It's just amazing."
The book and DVD, which are sold as a set, can be purchased online at www.utahfloodrelief.com or at participating businesses during the St. George Area Parade of Homes.
E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com