The Alley Spring Campground at Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Missouri became the scene of a mass rescue when a flash flood swamped the site, and over 200 campers suddenly found themselves in the water and in the dark at 4 a.m.
According to a report from the park,
The campers in Alley Spring campground were awakened at 4 a.m. on July 30th when their air mattresses began moving or objects started hitting the sides of their tents or trailers. Rain that had begun around 10 p.m. the previous evening had caused a flash flood that swamped the popular campground.
In less than three hours, the Jack’s Fork River rose from six to ten vertical feet, depending on the location along the river. The flash flood missed the gauges at the upper part of the Jacks Fork and struck lower sections of the river.
Park staff from all divisions, along with Missouri Water Patrol officers, evacuated the campers to higher ground. The campground had about 48 sites occupied by over 200 people. Many had to leave their tents, trailers, or vehicles in the water. In the haze of pre-dawn, officers used boats to rescue campers and ...bring them to safety.
After the campground was evacuated, the officers searched the entire Jacks Fork River for canoeists who might be camping on gravel bars. Many private and commercial canoes had floated away during the night with the rising river.
No lives were lost, but there was a large amount of property damage to the campsites and to park visitors’ property, including vehicles or campers that were totally destroyed.
Elsewhere in the park, a group on a cave tour later that same day had an unexpected boat trip added to their hike:
A group touring the Round Spring Cave emerged from the 2 p.m. tour to find the bridge crossing a small creek to be on one side of a torrential current. Park protection rangers boated to the site and evacuated the 15 visitors plus interpreter to the opposite shore. The group remained calm and in good spirits, with the three children on the tour calling it an “adventure” and the adults exchanging e-mails to share their photos.
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Comments
Ok this is the first time I have seen these comments. We are the owners of the truck and trailer in the picture above. My reply is the person who commented did not know what they were talking about. When we realized the problem everyone in the 100 loop was awake and trying to pack their belongings. After we got one vehicle out and the other one stuck my son used the pay phone and called the sheriff, the rangers and the state police and was informed help would be on the way. My husband and son took canoes that were by the campground hostess trailer (who by the way was not on site either) and went into the flooded campground to try to convince people to get in the canoes and leave. Most would not leave their stuff. We did ferry a family group that had hicked into the campground from a rock bar campsite (who lost all their stuff) up to the shelter by the mill. I don't think there was anything else we could have done to get emergerncy help sooner or people out.
We have camped at Alley Springs for 36 years and will continue to camp there. We have been back 3 times since the flood but have taken precautions to keep track of the river levels on our own. I still say the Ranger and other officials were negligent and with the increased number of rangers we saw on site this summer/fall I believe they also agreed.
In response to Anonymos' 8/9/09 comment:
Yes, when we realized the campground was flooding my son went to the pay phone and called the sheriff, rangers and state police to report the problem. The response was "ok, we will send help just hang tight". After we lost his truck and our trailer my husband and son took the canoes from the campground hostess site (by they way they were not there either) and rowed into the campsites to try to convince people to get in the canoes and leave or at least send their kids out. Most would not do so - they wanted to wait for the rangers to come. We ferried several families that had hiked back to the campsite from camping on gravel bars and had only the clothes they were wearing (6 little kids with them) up to the shelter by the mill. Don't make stupid assumptions and comments when you don't know what you are talking about.