FRUIT HEIGHTS—The cause of a mudslide in Fruit Heights near Mountain Road two weeks ago appears to be the result of snow on the bench that warmed up too quickly and saturated the hillside. The owners of the property were trapped in the slide as they were trying to divert the water and the hillside came down.

“They had non life threatening injuries,” said Fruit Heights City Manager Brandon Green. “The Davis County Sheriff’s Office responded very quickly and it didn’t take a lot to get them removed.”

Their home was not hit, just a barn that was on the back side of the property, he said. “They have a small farm, an acre maybe half acre that backs onto the hillside.”

The developer is doing a geo tech study to determine the exact cause, said Green. “When we get that information it will help us better to determine the cause and how to mitigate it in the future.”

There was a subdivision planned, said Green. “The developers were getting ready to install new underground work, sewer and water lines. Several geo tech studies of the area had already been done. This is an additional study the city has asked them to do.”

The clean up hasn’t started yet, Green said. “That’s not the city (who will do it) but the developer with the property owners.”  λ