Heavy rain causes flooding in Gainesville
Areas along Highway 160 in Gainesville saw flash flood conditions Sunday morning after several inches of rain fell quickly and saturated low spots in town. This photo was taken by Holly Hannaford at the White Oak Station on First Street (formerly J-Mart).
The flooded water filled a low area where O’Reilly’s, White Oak Station and 160 Pit Stop sit in Gainesville, as shown in this photo by Holly Hannaford taken Sunday morning, April 27.
Water didn’t enter the Gainesville Saddle Club cook shack, president Jim Willis said, but it came close.
Downtown Gainesville saw a bout of flash flooding Sunday morning, April 27, when a torrent of rain fell, leading to Lick Creek quickly rising and flooding its banks in a fashion that many residents remember only in the “1,000-year” flood of 2017.
Thankfully, the creek wasn’t up long and receded after a short time without leaving too much damage.
Despite the water getting deep enough to threaten multiple businesses’ doors, representatives at the locations that the Times checked with Monday - O’Reilly Auto Parts, White Oak Station (formerly J-Mart) and the Forge & Build building supply store - said the water had not entered or damaged the buildings.
Gainesville Saddle Club President Ed Willis said that there were only two campers who chose to stay the the night following Saturday night’s rodeo, and when he drove by Sunday morning both were gone, assuredly before the flooded water came though.
The rodeo grounds were completely submerged during the flood and took a beating, Willis said, but he was thankful the water didn’t get into the Saddle Club’s cook shack building.
“It was just two or three inches from the bottom of the door. The arena itself is going to need some care. It’s not horrible, but it will need some disc-ing, and we’ve got some driftwood up there. But it’ll have to wait a few days, because it’s still pretty muddy down there now,” Willis said Monday.
He said that the rodeo went really well, despite the rainy weekend.
“We had quite a crowd Friday night despite the heavy rain just before the rodeo got going. Then Saturday night, we had a great crowd, and it didn’t start raining until the end of the rodeo.”
The Saddle Club is finalizing details on its next event, Bulls and Barrels, scheduled for May 31.
Other residents reported that the water was over County Road 503, known locally as Cheese Plant Road, for a period of time when Lick Creek came rolling over the bridge.
Another roadway, County Road 103, or Ballpark Road, was closed for a short period of time by the Gainesville Fire Department, until the county could inspect the approaches of the higher bridge located there. Western District Commissioner Layne Nance did inspect the bridge and roadway and deemed it safe, opening it a few hours later.
The City of Gainesville reported that there wasn’t any major damage to the wastewater treatment facility.
The flooded conditions come as just another chapter in this spring’s wild weather, but thankfully, this time Mother Nature didn’t leave too much damage behind.
As staff put together this week’s edition, weather forecasters are calling for another onslaught of rain this week to continue what is being called one of the wettest Aprils on record.