By Dennis Brown

An overnight flash flood last week resulted in widespread damage in Lewis County including numerous road closures and destroyed or damaged homes.

Emergency Management Director Carl Chaney said an emergency was declared in the county last Wednesday morning and crews are continuing to assess damage.

The rain in the area began last Tuesday evening and continued into the early morning hours of Wednesday, dropping more than eight inches of reported rainfall in some areas.

Roadways were extensively damaged across the county, including Ky. Rt. 57 at the Fleming-Lewis County Line, Ky. Rt. 59 at Old Trace Bridge and Big Cabin Creek. Water remained over the roadway at several locations in the county, primarily on Kinney and Lower Kinney Roads. Trace Creek Road also remained covered on Wednesday evening.

The most visible damage was in the southern part of the county including the Camp Dix, Laurel and Old Trace areas, although damage was apparent all over the county.

Chaney said he had requested assistance from the Red Cross and that additional road equipment was requested from neighboring counties to help with repairs and getting roadways reopened. A supply of drinking water was received and has been made available for those in need.

Chaney said some 400 households were without water service and about 300 homes were without electricity following the overnight downpours. Several homes remain without water due to damage of water line crossings at washed-out creeks.

Between five and eight inches of rainfall was recorded overnight in various locations across the county. Some residents reported that six-in rain gauges had filled to overflowing.

Chaney said he has been in contact with various state and federal agencies to request assistance for those affected by the flooding. He said more than 50 homes, not including the ones damaged in the May flooding, were damaged to some extent by the early morning flooding.

Lewis County Road Department Supervisor Dane Howard said 45 roadways in the county received moderate to severe damage with 15 of those roadways completely inaccessible through Wednesday.

He said the southern part of the county received the most road damage. The areas included Emerson, Laurel, Grassy, Camp Dix, Petersville and Indian Creek. Moderate damage is reported in and around the Big Cabin Creek and Crooked Creek areas.

A declaration of emergency was signed Wednesday by Judge Executive Steve Applegate and was forwarded to Governor Steve Beshear for review. Numerous equests for assistance have also been made.

Preliminary damage assessments to roadways total $503,745.

Representatives have toured the damaged areas and will assist in applying for assistance from the federal government and for a federal emergency declaration for the county.

Ky. Rt. 59 at Old Trace Bridge near the Carter County line remains closed to all traffic. Ky. Rt. 57 at the Lewis/Fleming County line has been reopened to traffic after the bridge was determined to be safe by highway engineers, according to Allen Blair with the Kentucky Department of Transportation.

State and County Road Crews continued to work through the weekend to reopen roads and bridges. Some roads remained closed to through traffic on Sunday evening as they awaited repairs and the replacement of pipes.

Boil water advisories remain in effect for several areas around the county as workers continue to work to restore water and electric service to some areas.

Many residents reported that water levels as a result of the rainfall had reached points they had never seen although they had lived in the area all their lives.

Two mobile homes on Ky. Rt. 59 near the Lewis/Carter County line were completely washed away and destroyed when they struck the Old Trace Bridge. Two men inside one of the mobile homes reportedly escaped as the structure was being washed away.

Some motorists were also able to escape from their vehicles as the rising water caused the vehicles to stall.

Rescue crews were called to various locations in the county overnight to help families whose homes had become surrounded by the rapidly rising waters. Some families had climbed onto roofs to keep out of the water.

Orcutt’s Grocery building on Ky. Rt. 59, which also served as the community Post Office, was washed from its foundation and across a field, coming to rest against some creekside trees. The building remained in one piece as it made its 300 yard voyage in the rushing water.

Numerous propane tanks were washed away, many causing fog-like clouds over the receding pools of water the next morning as the propane escaped from them.

Crops and gardens were also damaged or completely washed away across the county. Some of the flattened tobacco patches had been scheduled scheduled to be topped on Friday.

Travel was limited in many parts of the county into Thursday as water covered roadways or washed out bridges and culverts.

A rescue team from the Camp Dix area had been dispatched in the early morning hours Wednesday and found the roadway covered with water as they attempted to return to the fire station.

Debris and gravel also washed onto roadways hampering travel. Items carried by the water lodged against bridges, trees and utility poles resulting in a domino effect causing the trees and utility poles to fall and collect even more debris at those locations.

The National Weather Service reported between six and eight inches of rain fell in an area along the Lewis County line with Mason, Fleming, Rowan and Carter counties.

The National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio, reported that a frontal boundary stalled just south of the Ohio River on Tuesday, allowing for several waves of showers and thunderstorms across southern Ohio and northern Kentucky. 

Very high moisture was in place, according to the NWS, which made these storms efficient heavy rain producers. These storms tracked repeatedly over the same locations, with some areas receiving heavy rain for almost four consecutive hours Tuesday night, leading to very high rainfall amounts. 

The highest amounts were across Mason and Lewis counties where rainfall amounts of seven to nine inches fell in just a few hours.

Two fatalities in neighboring counties have been reported in connection with the storm system moving through the area. One in Carter County and another in Scioto County, Ohio.

Anyone having damage to property that has not yet been reported should contact Lewis County Emergency Management at 606-796-3464 or the Lewis County Judge Executive's Office at 606-796-2722.

A Burtonville man was arrested and charged Thursday night in connection with manufacturing and possessing methamphetamine.

Chief Deputy Johnny Bivens said he and other deputies responded to a residence on Mulligan Hollow Road in the Burtonville Community in regards to illegal drug activity. He said deputies were investigating multiple complaints that individuals were making "meth" in an outbuilding.

Bivens said as deputies approached the area they saw a male running from the rear of the residence carrying a propane cylinder, a large knife and other items. He said deputies pursued and apprehended Kevin Cropper, 38, of Burtonville.

He said Cropper was found to be in possession of a white powdery substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine. Bivens added Cropper also possessed a glass cylinder commonly used to smoke meth.

Other items discovered at the location, according to Bivens, were several packs of batteries, containers of Coleman fuel, numerous packs of psuedophedrine tablets, propane tanks and a hose used to drain anhydrous ammonia from LP tanks.

Cropper was arrested and lodged in the Lewis County Detention Center on charges of manufacturing methamphetamine and first degree possession of a controlled substance.

Bivens was assisted at the scene by Deputy Tom Polley, Deputy Dwayne Stone, Deputy Joe Templeman and Deputy Gary Sparks.