Cleanup continues following Aug. 14 flooding

The water has receded and roads have reopened, but the effects of Friday’s flooding are still being felt across Lincoln County as residents, community members and crews continue cleaning up what the storm left behind.

Heavy rain Aug. 14 sent water through normally dry or lower-flow waterways, across roads and onto properties. Power outages were reported, mud and debris accumulated in several areas and some homes and businesses took on water.

During the Aug. 17 commission meeting, Lincoln County Roads supervisor Shane Cheeny gave county commissioners a clearer picture of what crews encountered during the storm and the work that followed.

In Caliente, some of the heaviest visible impacts were concentrated along Caliente Creek and around the U.S. Highway 93 bridge across from Agua Caliente, slightly north of Grover C. Dils Medical Center and the pharmacy.

As Caliente Creek rushed through the area, it carried mud, trees and other debris toward the bridge. Cheeny said the NDOT bridge handled all of the water it could until debris collected there and created a dam.

At the Caliente bridge, traffic backed up as motorists waited for conditions to improve. Lines of vehicles extended from the bridge back into Caliente as drivers waited for the roadway to become passable so they could travel north.

Power was lost at Agua Caliente, Young’s RV Park and several homes as heavy rainfall, lightning and thunderstorms moved through the area.

As flooding developed Friday, warnings from the National Weather Service and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office came out around the same time.

The National Weather Service issued a Flood Advisory for Lincoln County. The advisory expired at 3:15 p.m. after the heaviest rainfall ended, although a Flood Watch remained in effect into the evening.

At the same time, the Sheriff’s Office was alerting residents to problems developing across the county, including rushing water across U.S. 93 at the Lincoln-Clark county line, flooding in Caliente, the SR 317 closure, loss of access to Beaver Dam Estates and water over U.S. 93 near mile marker 107.

One detail stood out in Cheeny’s account of the storm as he described Meadow Valley Wash, Clover Creek and Antelope Canyon all carrying water during the same event.

“First time I’ve ever seen them run at the same time,” Cheeny told commissioners, estimating it had been 60 to 70 years since all three had run simultaneously.

Cheeny explained that the timing helped, as two of the waterways had largely trickled down before the Meadow Valley flow reached Caliente Saturday morning, meaning the full force of all three did not arrive in Caliente simultaneously. Had they done so, conditions could have been considerably worse.

He credited previous work involving concrete and rock with helping manage the flow and expressed relief that those measures had already been put in place.

“Everything we did worked the way it should,” Cheeny said. “Just thankful we dumped concrete and rock.”

Other locations presented their own challenges. SR 317 was closed at the railroad tracks. Rushing water across Carrigan Road made Beaver Dam Estates inaccessible.

Beaver Dam Road was one of the areas that particularly concerned county crews. Cheeny said there was a point when they nearly believed the road was lost.

Considerable debris was left behind, but all affected county roads were passable by Friday night.

Panaca experienced several inches of water moving down Main Street. Roads there remained open, but water reached Panaca Market and knocked its front door off its track. The door was repaired, and the business did not close. Power outages were also reported in Panaca.

Flooding along U.S. 93 near Coyote Springs and the Lincoln-Clark county line occurred near the southernmost portion of Lincoln County and prevented travel to and from the Las Vegas area.

Another unusual sight from Friday’s storm was captured between Caliente and Alamo, where residents photographed a funnel-shaped cloud extending from the storm. Photos and video circulated on social media, although there was no confirmed report that the funnel reached the ground.

Once the immediate danger passed, the work shifted to recovery.

By Saturday, the force of the flood was evident in what remained. Trees, vegetation and other debris had accumulated around the bridge, and a downed utility pole could be seen among the wreckage.

County crews assisted the City of Caliente and helped clear the mess around the hospital. Grover C. Dils Medical Center reported that water had entered portions of the facility and that its team was addressing affected areas and beginning cleanup.

Cheeny told commissioners water entered an older hospital building and flowed around another structure. He was glad to share that the pad for the new hospital building did not take on water.

County and local cleanup efforts are continuing. Several residents whose homes were affected have received help from community members who stepped in to remove damaged belongings, clear mud and debris and begin cleaning properties. Roads becoming passable and floodwaters receding marked the end of the immediate emergency, but not the end of its impact.