Warren County water rescue teams have busy Sunday following weekend rain

The heavy weekend rain kept Warren County Fire and Rescue Services busy Sunday, racking up over two dozen boat rescues cited by Fire Chief Richard Mabie in a letter to County Administrator Doug Stanley.

Chief Mabie said two boats rescued a citizen on Howellsville Road on Warren County, before moving on to a water rescue on Howellsville Road in Clarke County.

The heavy rain, coupled with an already saturated ground from previous heavy rain, led to flash flooding on Sunday, Mabie said. Boats were sent to the North Fork Campground Sunday to assist 11 citizens who were trapped in their trailers by rising waters.

Morgan Ford Bridge (low water bridge), impassable due to weekend flash flooding.

The letter also described a Monday search by the department for a dog that had drowned in its owner’s vehicle.

Mabie relayed that that three flooded vehicles were also rescued by passersby during the weekend flooding.

The rainfall caused a number of road closures throughout the region, according to Sandy Myers, a spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Transportation. She said at least 50 roads remained closed in Warren, Frederick and Shenandoah counties.

As of 5:00 p.m. Monday, Myers said there were 11 roads closed in Warren County, 16 in Frederick County and 31 in Shenandoah County.

Mabie indicated in the letter that routes along Happy Creek Road, Howellsville Road, John Marshal Highway and Oregon Hollow Rd in Linden were closed, as well as the Morgan Ford (Route 624) Bridge.

Those roads, he wrote, “will likely remain closed until VDOT can clean debris and examine roads for surface damages.”

He estimated that some roadways might reopen on Tuesday.