Brigham City

Every time a flood event is covered in the news, we see videos of people mourning the loss of keepsakes or other valuable items. If there is something you would be devastated to lose, try to keep it in a location off the floor or out of the basement. Consider keeping important documents in a waterproof container and even making digital copies of those documents in a password-protected file. Remember that many of your documents are already likely available online - bank and credit card statements, insurance policies, billing histories, etc. You may not need to keep paper copies of these things at all. (Bonus - you could free up a lot of space by cleaning it all out!) Take a picture of a cleaned-out gutter, downspout, storm drain, or canal/creek bank and submit it for this week's challenge at https://bcutah.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0VbP8vcPajT2Cwe.

Debris in gutters, drains, and on the banks of canals or the creek can cause water to back up and increase flood hazards. And many of these blockages are out of sight, so we don't think about them until we have a problem. If you have rain gutters, clean them out at least annually. Pay attention to the storm drains in the street near your home. City workers do come around and clear them out, but it may be many months between visits, and debris can build up. If your home borders the creek, clean out the spreading trees and bushes while they are still small and easy to remove. Fall is a great time to clean out the creek banks since the water level is lower and the weather is still pretty warm. And bonus, you'll be in a better position when spring runoff comes. The challenge for this week is to make sure your gutters, downspouts, drains, and/or canal banks are clear so water can freely flow. Take a picture of any of those things and submit it at https://bcutah.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0VbP8vcPajT2Cwe.

Congratulations to Chelsey Macfarlane, our Week Three drawing winner! We are concerned about and talk about spring runoff in Box Elder Creek every year. You can check out this interactive map to determine whether your home is in the designated Flood Hazard Area: https://hazards-fema.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=8b0adb51996444d4879338b5529aa9cd HOWEVER, anywhere the rain falls can flood. A heavy rainstorm can overwhelm storm drain systems quickly, especially if drains are clogged with leaves or other debris. Take a minute and walk outside your home. Note the slope of the land near your home and also a little farther away. If a lot of water is running, where would it run to? Consider ways to mitigate your risk from seasonal runoff AND from rainstorms. Please note, if you live along the creek, there are very specific regulations about what can be done in the floodway. Contact the city's floodplain manager for more information. The challenge for this week is to make sure your gutters, downspouts, drains, and/or canal banks are clear so water can freely flow. Take a picture of any of those things and submit it at https://bcutah.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0VbP8vcPajT2Cwe.

It's your last chance to enter our Week Three challenge drawing by telling us who your out-of-area contact is: https://bcutah.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0xIcLoJRCvjuo6O. This week's topic is flooding, which along with fire and earthquake is the most relevant for our area. The challenge requires a little work - make sure your gutters, downspouts, drains, and/or canal banks are clear so water can freely flow. Take a picture of any of those things and submit it at https://bcutah.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0VbP8vcPajT2Cwe. This week's prize is a solar hand crank radio, useful for receiving important messages if the power is out for an extended period and typical channels aren't available.

We've finished up our week of earthquake preparedness tips. You have just one more day to submit your entry for this week's challenge drawing. The prize is a multi-tool you can use to turn off your gas and/or water if needed in the event of an earthquake or other emergency. Please note, you should only turn off the gas if you suspect a leak. The gas can legally only be turned on again by the utility company, and in the event of an emergency it could be several days before they get to you. To enter the drawing, go to https://bcutah.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0xIcLoJRCvjuo6O and share who your contact is. You don't have to share their name, just their relationship to you and their location.

Did you know your homeowner's or renter's insurance won't cover damage or loss from earthquakes unless you have a special endorsement for it? Earthquake insurance is expensive, but it might be worth considering. To enter this week's challenge drawing, go to https://bcutah.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0xIcLoJRCvjuo6O and share who your contact is. You don't have to share their name, just their relationship to you and their location.

The Brigham City Water Division will start its annual Fall Culinary Water System Flushing Program beginning the week of September 23 and will continue through mid-October. It is anticipated some customers may experience temporary discoloring of the culinary water during the process. If this occurs, please allow the outside water to flow 5-20 minutes or until the water clears. This process should also be followed on the inside cold-water taps, preferably the tub or another unscreened cold water tap to clear the internal plumbing. Flushing the water system will improve water quality and service to our customers. Water utilities flush distribution mains for a variety of reasons, such as corrosion control, sediment removal, taste and odor control, control of color, removal of high turbidity, to improve chlorine residuals, to control bacteriological growths, and in response to customer complaints. Benefits of flushing include improved water quality and controlling bacteria growth. Brigham City’s Water Division is willing to help. If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact them at 435-734-6615.

The time to protect your home during an earthquake is now. One of the chief concerns is heavy items, like water heaters, bookcases, televisions, etc., falling over. These could injure someone or even just make cleaning up even harder. Take the time to secure large, heavy items to the wall with the appropriate straps or braces. Earthquake straps are available at any hardware store or can be purchased online. The prize for this week's challenge drawing is a multi-use tool that can be used to turn off your gas and/or water in the event of an earthquake or other emergency that requires it. To enter, go to https://bcutah.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0xIcLoJRCvjuo6O and share who your contact is. You don't have to share their name, just their relationship to you and their location.

Do you and your family members know what to do during an earthquake? Have you thought about safe places to drop, cover, and hang on at home, work, and school? Have a conversation today about what to do during an earthquake, and if you have young children, practice it a few times! Yesterday we talked about identifying an out-of-area contact who can help facilitate communication among your family members if local demand on telecommunications is too high. To enter this week's challenge drawing, go to https://bcutah.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0xIcLoJRCvjuo6O and share who your contact is. You don't have to share their name, just their relationship to you and their location.

When an emergency occurs, it's common for communication channels to get clogged up, which means you may have trouble making cell phone calls in the local area. And THAT means you may have trouble checking in on local family members. One way to help with this is to designate a friend or family member who lives outside the area, where communications are unlikely to be bogged down by an incident here. Decide who your contact person will be (ask them!), and make sure everyone in your family knows AND has their contact information either memorized or saved in their phones. If local communications aren't working, that person can send messages between your family members. To enter this week's challenge drawing, go to https://bcutah.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0xIcLoJRCvjuo6O and share who your contact is. You don't have to be specific and we won't get in touch with them to check. Something like "my father" or "my aunt" is fine.

UTA is seeking feedback on the updated 2025-2029 Five-Year Service Plan. More information is available at https://rideuta.com/FYSP, including an interactive map and opportunity to comment. They will host a public information session on Zoom on the evening of Tuesday, September 17, at 6pm – register at https://rideuta.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_oJSv6Fw_SD6T_YzzbeiZ2g#/registration to join.

Here's an interesting map of the fault lines in Utah: https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2016/3019/fs20163019.pdf. You can see that our area is among those with the highest earthquake risk in Utah. We definitely don't want to be alarmist, but it's important to understand our risk here and how to mitigate it. Later this week, we'll talk about the importance of an out-of-area contact. For this week's challenge, go to https://bcutah.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0xIcLoJRCvjuo6O and share who your contact is. You don't have to be specific and we won't get in touch with them to check. Something like "my father" or "my aunt" is fine.

ROAD CLOSURE ON 1300 N FROM MAIN ST TO 100 E FOR A WATER SERVICE LINE REPAIR. THIS WILL BE IN EFFECT UNTIL 5PM, TODAY. QUESTIONS, PLEASE CALL PUBLIC WORKS ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES AT 435-734-6615

Last week we shared tips around fire safety. This week we'll talk about earthquakes. Earthquakes are frequent in our area, even though most of us don't feel most of them. There's no question that we are due for an earthquake, and scientists say there is a 57 percent chance that we'll have an earthquake in the region of 6.0 or greater in the next 50 years. Yikes! (See https://ugspub.nr.utah.gov/publications/non_lib_pubs/putting-down-roots.pdf for some interesting reading, and Page 13 for this stat.) LAST CHANCE FOR WEEK 2 ENTRY: Submit a photo of your emergency kit or your more-than-half-full gas gauge at https://bcutah.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_06gzmjdkCVRgYCi. Entries close tonight at midnight! FIRST CHANCE FOR WEEK 3 ENTRY: Go to https://bcutah.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0xIcLoJRCvjuo6O and tell us who your out-of-area contact is. Don't worry, you don't have to be specific and we won't get in touch with them to check. Something like "my father" or "my aunt" is fine.

Week Two of our Emergency Preparedness Month challenge is winding up! Submit a photo of either your 96-hour kit OR your vehicle gas gauge showing your tank is more than half full at https://bcutah.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_06gzmjdkCVRgYCi. You could win a fire extinguisher for your home.

Today's emergency preparedness tip is about prevention. Take the time to look over the exterior of your home (there's a great resource at https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/wildfire/preparing-homes-for-wildfire) and identify hazards that might put your home at risk. Make a plan to address them. We haven't had many submissions to our challenge drawing yet this week, so if you enter, your chances of winning the fire extinguisher are excellent! Submit a photo of either your 96-hour kit OR your vehicle gas gauge showing your tank is more than half full at https://bcutah.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_06gzmjdkCVRgYCi to be entered into the drawing for Week Two. This week's prize is a fire extinguisher for your home.

Brigham City will be doing a chip and seal project beginning on Monday, Sept 16 through Tuesday, Sept 17 from 7:00a.m. - 7:00p.m. the following roads will be closed: 600 N (900 W to 1200 W) 200 E (800 S to 1000 S) All of Kirk Place, Skyline, Dentwood, and Michelle Drives 500 E (300 N to 500 N) Cherry (700 N to Sunset) 100 S (600 E to SR-90) 300 N (200 E to 600 E) Should you have any questions, please contact Brigham City Public Works Administrative Offices at 435-734-6615

We've all seen the images of cars lined up for blocks (or miles) when a community needs to evacuate and EVERYONE tries to fill their gas tanks up at the same time on the way out of town. You'll be miles ahead of the crowd (see what we did there?) if you make it a practice to always keep your gas tank above half full. Submit a photo of either your 96-hour kit OR your vehicle gas gauge showing your tank is more than half full at https://bcutah.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_06gzmjdkCVRgYCi to be entered into the drawing for Week Two. This week's prize is a fire extinguisher for your home.

Have you heard of Localscapes? It's a simple approach to landscaping that considers Utah's climate. Localscapes classes have been popular along the Wasatch Front and in other parts of the state, and now they are coming to the Brigham City Public Library! Spots are limited for the September 23 class. Find more information and a link to register at https://www.brighamlibrary.org/event/11671965.

Most of us have heard of a 72-hour kit. Basically, you assemble food, water, clothing, and other supplies to last for three days for each person in your home. More recently, recommendations have been revised. Some call for a 96-hour kit, while others just say to get a "disaster supply kit." In any case, it's important to prepare! Here's a great resource from Be Ready Utah that includes a supply list and various guides for preparedness: https://beready.utah.gov/family-preparedness/get-a-kit-family/. Remember when you are assembling or updating your kits to consider special needs for babies and young children, the elderly, and pets, including medications, mobility needs, and comfort. For the Week Two challenge, submit a photo of either your 96-hour kit or your vehicle gas gauge showing your tank is more than half full at https://bcutah.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_06gzmjdkCVRgYCi.