SALT LAKE CITY – Residents of Salt Lake City are asked to remain extremely cautious as high winds continue to whip through the City and are expected to continue overnight Tuesday according to the National Weather Service. 

“While we hope the worst of this windstorm is behind us, we have to remain on high alert for fallen trees and downed power lines as more strong gusts are on the way,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall. “We’ve found solutions to help our unsheltered community stay safe during what is anticipated to be a cold and windy night. We’re grateful for our community partners for stepping in quickly to ensure people are safe.”

Mayor Mendenhall signed 2020’s 15th emergency proclamation earlier Tuesday following hurricane-force winds that ripped through the city, causing significant property damage, downed trees, power outages and closures of schools, streets and businesses. The declaration will allow the City to collect federal relief dollars should they become available as recovery efforts begin. 

City crews are hard at work removing fallen trees from public streets and sidewalks and will continue to respond, though call volume is very high. Residents are encouraged to stay indoors as crews from the power company and the City are working to restore service. Also, the City is urging residents to not place any additional debris from private property in the street or right-of-way until crews get caught up with emergency operations. As soon as crews can schedule routes to pick up storm debris from private property, that information will be pushed out to all residents. 

“I’m grateful to our teams across City departments who have responded to calls all day in very difficult conditions. This is a major event for our teams, and once again they have risen to the challenge.” Mayor Mendenhall said. “We have also been assisted by teams from other cities and agencies and are grateful for their help”.

Outside agencies that assisted Salt Lake City today include South Jordan, Bluffdale, Bountiful, Taylorsville, West Valley City, Herriman, and South Salt Lake as well as community partners including the American Red Cross, Team Rubicon, Catholic Charities and Salt Lake County. 

While the forecast remains uncertain, the City’s sanitation teams are asking that residents NOT place their garbage, recycling and yard waste cans out Tuesday evening. Should the wind die down by morning, City sanitation teams plan to complete both Tuesday and Wednesday routes on Wednesday. More information will be posted at twitter.com/slcgreen once a determination can be made. 

The City has opened the Sorenson Unity Center at 1383 South 900 West as an emergency shelter space to keep people experiencing homelessness safe overnight. City teams have been doing outreach with unsheltered individuals throughout the city and partnering with the Utah Transit Authority in providing transportation to get people out of the dangerous elements. 

Additional locations opened by community partners, including the American Red Cross and Salt Lake County include: 

• Christ United Methodist Church at 2375 E. 3300 S.
• Northwest Recreation Center, 1255 Clark Ave
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 808 Roosevelt Ave

Millcreek/South Salt Lake

• Millcreek Community Center at 2266 Evergreen Ave

West Valley City 

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 3900 South 4000 West

Resources:

More information is available at https://www.slc.gov/wind-damage-faqs/

Individuals should call 911 in case of emergencies that threaten life and safely. People should assume all downed power lines are live and keep their distance.

Report downed lines and power outages by contacting Rocky Mountain Power at 877-508-5088, or texting OUT to 759677 or visiting http://rockymountainpower.net/outage. 

Residents should call 801-972-7818 or fill out this online form to report urgent problems involving downed City-owned trees. That includes trees on homes or vehicles, and blocked roads or sidewalks. Individuals who live outside Salt Lake City limits should call their local jurisdictions for assistance.

###