SOUTH WEBER — Residents along and near 1650 East returned to their homes Tuesday after spending two nights away from home because of a mudslide.
The slide, which happened Sunday, sent a 4-year-old girl to the hospital with a fractured femur and damaged her home so much it was ruled a total loss.
Sixteen houses were evacuated because of the slide. The residents learned in a homeowners' meeting Tuesday morning that the hill was stable enough to allow them to return. "It's always nice to go back home," said Richard Lowry, one of the homeowners who were evacuated.
The injured girl, Kendell Keyes, was listed in fair condition Tuesday evening at Primary Children's Medical Center. "Kendell is continuing to rest comfortably and is doing well," said her parents, Kelly and Jennifer Keyes, in a written statement Tuesday. "We feel very lucky that our family made it out and a miracle that Kendell is with us."
Davis County engineer Kim Wallace said the hill likely will become more stable as water is drained from a pond atop it.
Crews on Monday began draining the pond, which serves as a catch basin for runoff from a nearby gravel-mining operation, Wallace said. But downpours throughout Monday night refilled the pond, prompting county crews to round up more pumps and more pipe to empty the pond Tuesday.
Richard Giraud, a geologist with the Utah Geological Survey, said pond water infiltrated an embankment at the top of the hill. When the embankment became too saturated, a fast and shallow mudslide resulted.
Shallow mudslides are more dangerous than deep mudslides, he said, because deep mudslides move more slowly and give people time to evacuate.
The debris in Sunday's slide likely weighed between 140 and 145 pounds per cubic foot, Giraud said, and was moving fast. But the hillside now appears to be done moving, especially with the draining effort in place.
"We haven't found any evidence of springs. We haven't found any evidence of ground cracks," Giraud said.
South Weber officials planned to begin looking at ways to strengthen rules for developers in order to protect future homes, said South Weber Mayor Joe Gertge.
Giraud said during Tuesday's meeting that the homes were probably built too close to the hillside. Gertge said the city may find ways to mandate that homes be set farther away from hillsides, or it may require a berm, retaining wall or other reinforcement if a mudslide danger exists.
The problem, Gertge said, is the city didn't know there was a danger of slides on that particular hill. The gravel pit, which is located on unincorporated county land, had been in the back of his mind, Gertge said, but he had no idea about the pond.
Wallace said the owner of the land where the pond is located has been asked to come up with a water-mitigation plan and implement it within 30 days.
E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com