County Judge Rick Davis issued a High Water Alert for Garland County Friday afternoon after rain flooded several roadways throughout Garland County.
"This alert is to advise the residents of Garland County, especially those living in regularly flood-prone areas, that the potential exists for these areas to have above-normal water levels in the next few days," Robert King, communications/warning officer for Garland County Emergency Management, said Friday.
"Most of Garland County has received significant rainfall already and an additional 1-2 inches overnight," King said. "More is forecast in the coming days."
The county reported road closures at the low-water bridge on Brady Mountain Cutoff and the Mazarn bridges on Pearcy Road due to water over the roadway.
"All residents should heed the warnings and obey the road barricades. Remember, "Turn around, don't drown," King said.
Garland County Road Commissioner Tony Breshears said the road department closed the North Pearcy Road bridge Friday afternoon after a swollen Mazarn Creek had made it impassable.
"It's by far the worst of the flooding we had," he said. "It always gets bad because the guard rails catch everything. We'll have to wait for the water to recede and someone out there (today) to clean all the debris off it."
Flooding also washed out part of Ragweed Valley Road near Crystal Springs, Breshears said.
Thunderstorms Friday morning left 1,500 Entergy Arkansas Inc. customers without power, with restoration estimated for 9 p.m. Friday, according to Jim Garland, manager of region customer service.
Outages were spread throughout the county, and at 8 a.m. the highest-impacted areas were Whittington Avenue, Park Avenue and Central Avenue.
"Lightning struck a pole and knocked down a wire," Garland said. "The majority of the outages have been weather related due to weather and lightning."
At 12:30 p.m., all available Entergy crews were working to restore power to the remaining 1,300 customers.
"There is potential that some won't have power through the night and it will be restored today," Garland said.
Lake Hamilton Fire Department responded to 409 Mountain Meadow Road around 7:24 a.m. where a storage building had been struck by lightning. Three Lake Hamilton fire engines, with assistance from Morning Star Fire Department, extinguished the fully involved fire at around 8:15 a.m., according to LHFD Deputy Chief Doug Davey.
It was estimated the fire caused approximately $10,000 to $15,000 worth of damage.
Local on 04/30/2016