Southern Washington County communities hit hard by flooding
Homes, businesses and a wedding reception were affected by flooding Saturday night in southern Washington County.
Heavy rainfall was concentrated mostly in North Franklin Township, South Franklin Township and Amwell Township.
David Bane, chief of North Franklin Township Fire Company, estimated about three inches of rain fell in an hour. Their first call for flooding came shortly after 8 p.m.
Amwell Township suffered some of the most significant flooding. Chaz McVay, chief of the Lone Pine Fire Department, said they got their first call for flooding around 8:30 p.m.
“We had two homes that were flooded up to their first floor,” McVay said.
According to McVay, a home on Brush Run Road required a water rescue team to remove two adults and three teenagers trapped inside.
He added that Sunday morning they needed to pump water out of three basements.
Dave Pryo, who lives in the 600 block of Lone Pine Road, had his basement and a separated garage flood.
“(Saturday) night was the worst we’ve had since Hurricane Ivan. It was worse than Hurricane Ivan,” Pryo said.
There was significant flooding off the Lone Pine exit of Interstate 79. McVay said they responded to two cars stuck in the water on Waynesburg Road near its intersection with Burt Lane.
Amwell Township business Arcadia Natives was destroyed by the flooding. Kelly Strope, owner of the native plant nursery, posted to the business’ Facebook page that the future of the business is uncertain.
“I’m not in a financial position to fix the damage that has been done. With multiple flood events over the last few seasons, I am not even sure it is wise to rebuild and reopen here at all,” the post reads.
North Franklin Township businesses were also damaged by flood waters.
“Studio Seven and Scotty’s Ice Cream, their businesses were flooded pretty bad,” Bane said.
According to Bane, his department mostly dealt with flooding on the roads, but there were three calls for residential flooding.
“We had one swimming pool overflow on Scenic Drive. It flooded the gentleman’s basement,” Bane said.
Scotty’s Ice Cream Drive-In along Park Avenue was closed Sunday, but employees and friends were at the business helping clean up.
Owner Ron Ranko said they were able to respond quickly once water started getting inside the business. They got products outside and shut off anything electrical that could be exposed to water.
According to Ranko, this was the third time the business has dealt with flooding in 17 years.
“This was maybe second worst, out of three,” Ranko said.
Ranko extended credit to the community and local businesses for pitching in to help with cleanup. He hopes they will be able to open up for business today.
In South Franklin Township, the local fire department did not have to go far to respond to flooding. The social hall at Jolly School Road started to flood during a wedding reception.
Julie Marth, the social hall manager, said water started to flood an office and a storage room at about 8:30 p.m.
The wedding was for the son of Tom Hutson, a board member and longtime firefighter at the department. Marth said the music stopped briefly, but they were able to keep the celebration going.
“The water didn’t actually get to where the reception was being held. The dance floor was never involved, the food was never involved,” Marth said. “Several of their guests did jump in and help out, which was greatly appreciated.
Marth said there was no significant damage and the water never got very high.
“It might have covered the toe of your shoe,” Marth said.
According to Marth, water receded quickly.
“By 10 o’clock, you wouldn’t have even known that it happened,” Marth said.