Major Problems: Homes Flooded, Roads Closed, Power Outages, House Fire (With Photo Gallery)
March 28, 2009
Up to 15 inches of rain overnight cause major problems in Molino and Cantonment.
At least two homes on Molino Road just east of Highway 29 were flooded. Firemen were called out to rescue several families in the Molino and Cantonment areas this morning from flooded homes, including a family on Pinoak Lane.
Overnight storms resulted in large scale power outages and flooding in and around North Escambia this morning. Lightning started a fire in a Molino home.
Click here for an exclusive NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from Molino this morning.
Rainfall totals, according to radar estimates, ranged from 15 inches near Molino to five inches in Century. The heavy rains led to several road closures. For details on road closures and flooding, click here.
A resident on Barth Lane reported that their house was hit by lightning before 6 Saturday morning. Fire units on scene reported a possible attic fire. There were no injuries.
Power outages were reported in Molino, Century, Walnut Hill and surrounding communities. Portions of Molino were without power until 1:00 this afternoon.
If you have storm damage or flooding reports or photos, email news@northescambia.com
Pictured above: This home on Molino Road was flooded. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photo, click to enlarge.
Red Cross Molino Shelter Closes
March 28, 2009
The America Red Cross has closed the shelter at Aldersgate Methodist Church in Molino Saturday night. A shelter remains open in Baker.
A shelter is open at the Milligan Assembly of God at 5408 Highway 4.
For more information on shelters in other locations, please contact the American Red Cross 800-773-7620.
Santa Rosa Storm Update, Road Closures
March 28, 2009
This is the latest update from the Santa Rosa County EMA Saturday night:
Rainfall totals for the event to date:
* Center of county-13 inches
* South of Milton- 5-6 inches
Rivers
* Based on a forecast model from the River Forecast Center, Blackwater River in Milton is expected to crest at 10.2 feet on Monday morning. At 5 p.m. today, the river was at approximately 4.5 feet.
* Flooding may impact an estimated 300 structures in low lying areas along Blackwater River in Santa Rosa County.
* Public safety officials are asking boaters to stay off the river until the water has receded to normal levels due to hazards caused by debris and possible additional damage to structures caused by wave action.
* Residents along Blackwater River should take any needed protective actions immediately. Even citizens living in elevated homes may need to evacuate as roads may be impassable due to flooding.
* Residents who plan to evacuate and need shelter are asked to call the Emergency Management Office at 983-5360.
* Blackwater at the Baker flood gauge expected to crest tomorrow morning near 20 feet, and expected to be back below flood stages by Tuesday. According to Mobile Weather Service Blackwater has not seen flooding of this magnitude since 1975 when it reached 19.45 feet.
* Coldwater is reported at 11.5 feet, flood stage is 11 feet.
* Staff will continue to monitor all local rivers.
Bridge Closures
The listed bridges and any other county maintained bridges that are flooded, should not be crossed until public works inspections have been completed, after the water recedes. Motorist should always avoid crossing flooded streets and should never attempt to cross flooded bridges.
Bridges are closed on:
* Springhill Road
* Deaton Bridge Road
* Red Rock Road
* Gordon Land Road
* Penton Road
* Walling Road
* Hamilton Bridge Road at the Pond Creek Bridge
* Amos Cabaniss Road
Road Closure/Impassable Roads
Many low lying areas of the county are flooded and are expected to remain flooded throughout the day today, and into the evening. Standing water creates a serious road hazard, even when only a portion of the roadway is flooded. Roads listed below are closed due to severe erosion.
* Smith Wixon Road- Road washed out but public works crews are repairing- should be open by 7 p.m.
* Sellersville Road- Culvert washed out
Emergency Crews had to assist the following due to flooding, no injuries reported
* One residence on Hwy. 197/Chumuckla
* One residence on Allentown Road
* A vehicle on Mittie Crain Road in Munson
* Vehicle on Wagner Bridge on Springhill Road
* 23 campers at Tomahawk Landing, first rescue by bus, now rescue boats are being used due to impassable roads
* 25 campers at Blackwater River State Park are unable to leave due to flooded roads and rescue crews are assisting as roads are impassible
* Campers on Big Cold Water Park on Horse Shoe Loop Road were evacuated.
* Sinking vehicle on Jimmy Lewis Road
No Emergency Assistance Needed
* Water has been reported in a home in the 9100 block of Byrom Campbell Road.
* One residence on Annie Penton Road left on their own due to rising water/water in their home.
EWMS Cheerleading Tryouts Canceled
March 28, 2009
Cheerleader tryouts that were scheduled to be held at Ernest Ward Middle School this morning have been canceled due to the weather and closure of local roads.
This event will be rescheduled in a few days and all participants will be informed.
Trail Ride Canceled
March 28, 2009
Due to weather conditions, the Panhandle Equine Rescue’s ‘Ride for Rescue’, trail ride has been canceled.
The trail ride will be rescheduled for a later date.
Updated Road Closures
March 28, 2009
Drivers are still urged to use caution in North Escambia after Saturday’s floods.
Highway 29 in North Escambia has been reopened..
Caution should also be used at the intersection of Highway 97 and Highway 29. There may still be mud on the road from the floods.
Authorities are encouraging people to stay home in North Escambia and avoid travel, especially in the Molino and Cantonment areas.
Pictured above: The intersection of Highway 29 and Highway 97 this morning. The water had receded about one foot at the time of this photo. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photo, click to enlarge.
Bratt Elementary School Librarian’s Home Hit By Possible Tornado
March 28, 2009
For years, Bratt Elementary School librarian Martha Jeter worried that one day a tornado would hit the school, but she never considered that her home might be destroyed by a storm.
In the pre-dawn hours Friday, her home was heavily damaged by a tornado or powerful straight line winds.
Martha, her husband Gerald and a step-nephew Joe Brown were in the Jeter’s home on Bell Creek Road near Chumuckla in Santa Rosa County when the possible tornado hit just before 5:00 Friday morning.
Gerald was already awake after hearing heavy rains on the small wood frame house’s tin roof, and because of frequent thunder and lightning. Martha was asleep in the back the house. She was oblivious to the weather outside because she was not wearing her hearing aids.
“He got us up and told us to go the hallway,” she said. “I headed toward the kitchen window to look out. Then there was what sounded like an explosion.” That sound was a tree limb crashing through the window of the home.
“The whole house shook,” Gerald said. The family gathered in the hallway, and in seconds it was over.
“We did not really know what had happened,” Martha said. “It was so dark. We knew there was water raining in the house, but it was daylight before we could get a good look at how bad it was.”
The family was uninjured. And what they found was not good.
The carport was gone. The roof on the utility room off the carport was gone. Much of the metal roof on their house was torn away, some hundreds of yards away in the trees. The roof that remained on the home had boards from the carport driven through it.
A large wooden board was pushed through the wall of their travel trailer, which had been spun around 90 degrees by the winds as it sat just outside their home. The roof on the travel trailer was rolled back.
The damage was so severe that Santa Rosa County condemned their house, declaring it unsafe to live in.
“They tell us that we can’t sleep here tonight,” Martha told NorthEscambia.com late Friday afternoon. The family had gathered at the house trying to salvage clothes and other items before darkness fell. “It’s hard to believe that it is all gone.”
“For years I would pray ‘Lord don’t ever let a tornado hit the school’,” Jeter said. She would say that prayer each time the children at Bratt Elementary huddled in the hallways for tornado drill. “I just never thought one would hit our house, take our house away.”
The Jeters had big plans for their little home next weekend. Their children were to be in town to help Martha and Gerald celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.
“But we won’t be having them here at this house now,” she said. “But we will still celebrate our anniversary. Forty years.”
The Jeters have lived on Bell Creek Road for almost 22 years. They are not sure if they will rebuild at this point. The family had insurance, but they also had other plans. Martha is just a year away from retirement, and they had thought about moving south to be closer to their kids.
For now, they will be staying with nearby relatives.
“I’m not sure what we will do next,” Martha said. “I am just thankful that we were not hurt, and that no one else was hurt. We were blessed.”
Click here for more NorthEscambia.com photos from the Jeter home in Chumuckla.
Pictured top: Martha and Gerald Jeter outside the remains of their Chumuckla home Friday afternoon. Pictured middle inset: A large piece of wood was driven into the side of a travel trailer just outside the home. Pictured below: The house was heavily damaged by a possible tornado. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Attorney That Wanted To Sue School Board For Town Of Century Quits
March 28, 2009
The attorney that wanted the Town of Century to sue the Escambia County School District to keep Carver/Century K-8 School open has called it quits.
NorthEscambia.com has obtained a letter that Crestview attorney Jeffery Toney faxed to the Town of Century saying that he would no longer be able to represent the town because he disagrees with the way the town conducts business in the public eye.
“It appears that the Town of Century and its City Attorney view the attorney-client privilege differently that what is accepted by me,” Toney wrote in his letter. “This sacred trust must be protected, never breached and always respected regardless of the public or private venue.”
For nearly an hour at a special Century Town Council meeting last Tuesday afternoon, Toney refused to provide a direct answer as to the cost of his services, and he refused to explain on what legal grounds the Town of Century might sue the Escambia County School District to prevent them from closing Carver/Century K-8 at the end of this school year.
As to why he would not provide specific answers to the council, Toney said “I did not want to do that in front of everyone here.”
He later added, “I did not come here to have this forum…I came here to talk to this council in closed session.”
Matt Dannheisser, the town’s attorney, pointed out that Florida’s Sunshine Law — a set of statutes that essentially states that government business in Florida must be conducted in open meetings — very clearly forbids a private meeting between an attorney and client except in a few circumstances and only after litigation had been filed.
At the end of Tuesday’s meeting, Toney agreed to spend $4,000 to write a legal memorandum to explain his fees and legal grounds for taking the school board to court.
In his letter to Century Mayor Freddie McCall, Toney said he was refunding the $4,000.
“I don’t know what step the town will take next” McCall told NorthEscambia.com Friday afternoon. “Toney indicated to me that he may pursue something against the school board with or without us. We may just sit back and see what happens.”
Click here to read the NorthEscambia.com report from Tuesday afternoon’s council meeting with Toney.
Tornado Watch In Effect
March 28, 2009
A tornado watch is in effect for North Escambia and the surrounding area through Saturday morning.
Tornadoes, hail up to three inches in diameter, thunderstorm wind gusts to 80 mph and dangerous lightning are possible in the area, according to the National Weather Service.
A tornado watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and be aware of possible warnings.
Here is your complete National Weather Service forecast:
Saturday: Showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1pm. Some storms could be severe, with damaging winds and heavy rain. High near 68. South wind around 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming clear, with a low around 41. West wind between 5 and 15 mph.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 60. West wind around 10 mph.
Sunday Night: Clear, with a low around 38. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 71. Calm wind becoming south between 5 and 10 mph.
Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 54. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.
Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 73. Southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.
Tuesday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. Southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78.
Highway 99 Accident
March 28, 2009
Rain may have been a contributing factor in a single vehicle accident Friday night accident near Oak Grove.
A 16-year old female lost control of her car in a double curve on North Highway 99 south of Breastworks Road, left the roadway and struck a fence about 10:40 Friday night. Her injuries were minor.
The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and Atmore Ambulance responded to the call.
The name of the injured was not released due to her age.