No major incidents reported, storm drops five inches of rain on Page Valley
By Randy Arrington
LURAY, Oct. 4 — Although the Page Valley endured historic high water levels, it was spared from the worst of Hurricane Helene’s flooding that devastated parts of North Carolina, Tennessee and southwestern Virginia.
“Our hearts are just broken to see what has taken place across the country the past week,” said Holly Foltz of Stanley, who has organized a local effort to gather donations for those displaced by the widespread flooding that has now claimed more than 200 lives, according to multiple reports.
Page County donations at drop-offs in Stanley and Shenandoah have now filled more than a half dozen trailers — three of those headed out to Erwin, Tenn. early Thursday morning to offer relief in Unicoi County. One truck delivered four pallets of bottled water to Hendersonville, N.C. on Wednesday and another is headed to Asheville on Thursday. Two trucks will drop supplies at the New River Regional Jail near Pulaski on Thursday as well.
“I hope that if we were ever in that situation, they would help us,” said Kara Hensely of Shenandoah, who donated a trailer and is driving it to the New River Valley in southwest Virginia.
Helene dropped more than five inches of rain on Page County over a period of five days, with more than half of that falling on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 26-27. By Saturday evening, the South Fork of the Shenandoah River crested at 15.59 feet at White House bridge — the 24th highest crest on record since 1896. It was the highest level seen in the river since Sept. 18, 2018, when remnants of Hurricane Florence brought between 2 to 6 inches of rain to the Valley. Hurricane Fran’s record 26.95 feet from September 1996 still stands. With the Flood of 1985 coming in a close second, with a 26.72’ crest.
Page County Public Schools closed on Monday and Tuesday, but reopened Wednesday on a two-hour delay. Last Friday evening, more than 1,000 customers were without power in the county, but the Page County Sheriff’s Office reported that there was no major damage or major incidents locally.
On Saturday, Sept. 28, first responders launched two separate river rescues, successfully getting more than a dozen people away from the rising waters.
“The first incident occurred [about 1 p.m.] off of Alger’s Drive in Rileyville,” a report by the Luray Fire Department stated. “Approximately 13 campers became stranded on an island between a backwash that became filled with swift water and the river. Luray Fire Department responded with approximately 10 personnel, and was assisted by Shenandoah Fire Department’s “Boat 70”, Page County EMS, Page County Sheriff’s Office, and the Conservation Police. All 13 campers were safely evacuated.”
“Shortly after returning from the first call, a second call was dispatched [about 5:30 p.m.] for a stranded camper near River Water Drive [near Lot 13 and the Moody Boat Launch],” the Luray Fire Department report reads.
“This incident left a male stranded in his vehicle with no means of egress. Our crew deployed our paddle craft and was able to successfully remove this male from harm and to safety,” stated a report from the Shenandoah Fire Department on the same incident.
Helene interacted with the terrain of the Blue Ridge which enhanced rainfall, disastrously so in North Carolina. Locally, the excessive runoff made its way down into the Valley and brought the highest water levels to the Shenandoah River since 2018.
While nearly three inches of rain fell in the Page Valley last Thursday and Friday, light showers continued for two-plus additional inches through Tuesday. The forecast for additional rain on top of high water levels lead to a Flood Watch issued over the weekend through Monday evening due to concerns over flash flooding across the mountainous terrain of the northern Shenandoah Valley and into West Virginia.
“Given saturated soils and swollen streams and rivers, flooding is possible,” the warning stated. “Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.”
From Wednesday evening through Saturday morning, several surrounding localities received more than double the rainfall that Page County recorded — Stuarts Draft with 7.9 inches, and Massanutten Resort had 7.2 inches. While during that same time frame locally, Page reported 3.64 inches at the headquarters for Shenandoah National Park, 3.16 inches in Stanley, and 1.86 inches at Luray Caverns Airport.
Significant rainfall upstream of Page County, from other areas of the South Fork basin, led to the river flooding. The Shenandoah River at Lynwood, south of Elkton, crested at 17.65’ around 2:30 pm on Saturday.
As the river rose last Saturday morning, the Town of Shenandoah closed Shenandoah Landing and River Park. Road closures were reported on Grove Hill Road and Shenandoah River Road. By afternoon, the water continued to rise, leading to flooding of boat landings, campgrounds, fields, yards, and roads along the river. Ganders Drive, River Road, and Riverwater Drive were reportedly flooded. Shenandoah National Park closed several trails due to multiple trees down and flooding.
“What we experienced here pales in comparison to the heart-breaking devastation in North Carolina and east Tennessee. We were all wondering what could we do from here? What resources do they need? How can we help the first responders there?” reads a Thursday night post by the Luray Fire Department, who decided earlier this week to step up and offer something to those who have lost so much.
“A few weeks ago, our Heavy Squad was taken out of service and placed on GovDeals to be auctioned, as it was replaced by our new Rescue Engine. To our surprise the Squad garnered no bids. We were in the midst of making other arrangements to sell it when the hurricane hit, but it never came to fruition,” the post continues. “On Tuesday night at the regular monthly meeting, the membership of the Luray Fire Department voted unanimously to donate the Heavy Squad to Butler, Tennessee for their use. They lost everything. Their station, their trucks, and their equipment. The coordination and transportation of the unit is being made in conjunction with Apparatus Solutions of Brandy Station, Virginia. The truck will likely leave next week and will hopefully be able to help Butler Fire Department get back on their feet.”
Holly Foltz helps others because of the example set by her parents, Buster and Patti Campbell. The Stanley couple helped coordinate hurricane disaster relief efforts many times — and now, she’s teaching her own children the meaning of empathy and generosity to honor their memory.
“It has been so fulfilling to watch my kids do this community service and to see how much our community is willing to give back,”Foltz said earlier this week. “We live in a good community. I had no idea how I would pull this off and now I have an overwhelming response from locals wanting to help…It’s been Incredible to witness. It’s been even more humbling to hear the amount of people who have stories to tell about my parents and what a blessing they were for doing this same thing. There’s still a lot of good left in the world. We just have to let it shine through us. We appreciate our community for standing behind us and making this possible.
“Such a humbling experience,” she said. “Our thoughts and prayers with those suffering the aftermath of Helene.”
Sign up for the County’s Code Red Emergency Notification System: https://www.pagecounty.virginia.gov/173/CodeRED-Emergency-Notification-System
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Chase Suddith contributed to the reporting of this article.
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