A wet mess

Courtesy of Bill Taylor

A massive debris field developed on the Blackwater River below the W.E. Skelton 4-H Educational Conference Center as strong rainwater-fed currents flushed tree trunks, limbs, boards and lots of man-made trash out of the upper Blackwater and washed it downstream. Because of windy conditions, some of the debris failed to make the turn at B36 and collected in front of several Union Hall homes, including one owned by Bill and Gale Taylor.

Courtesy of Gerald Lewis

Water spills over the Smith Mountain Dam.

Courtesy of Jim Dodd

A dock at Bass Cove in Bedford County, located off Smith Mountain Lake Parkway between Smith Mountain Lake State Park and Saunders Marina, was covered with water on the morning of Nov. 13.

Courtesy of Bill Taylor

Debris encroached on the Taylor's dock. Gale Taylor said in an e-mail that they have long been alarmed by the pile of debris building up on the west side of the Virginia 834 bridge over the Blackwater. "Several years ago, we went through the formal process with FERC and APCO/AEP in an attempt to have the huge pile of debris removed," wrote Gale Taylor. "We heard lots of reasons why it couldn't be done and nothing happened until this 'perfect storm' combination of high water and wind."

Courtesy of Wayne Gentry

This walkway at a dock in Pittsylvania County is covered with water.

Courtesy of Bobbie Cobaugh

Kent Henry (from left) Rick Cobaugh and Ken Lauterstein prepare to refloat an errant dock.

Courtesy of Lisa Barron

Karl Barron of Huddleston wades through the water on Craddock Creek on Friday, Nov. 13 after the rains subsided.

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Doug Pafford was looking out the window at the rain on the morning of Nov. 12 when he noticed the birdfeeder in his yard was empty. He picked up a bucket of sunflower seeds and headed out to fill the feeder when he saw a boat floating in the cove off of the Waverly in Moneta.

"I paused for an instance and realized it was our boat," said Pafford.

The boat was drifting slowly toward a neighbor's dock. As Pafford ran over to the neighboring dock, hoping to snag the boat, he realized a light breeze was pushing the boat toward the middle of the cove.

Pafford returned to his dock only to find the paddle boat, which he had planned to use to get to the drifting boat, was full of water. He used his cellphone to call his wife, Sharon, who came down to the dock and helped bail out the paddle boat.

Together, they pedaled out to the boat, which fortunately, had not drifted out of the cove.

Pafford said about four hours later, they received an alert from their homeowners' association that the lake was flooding.

Stories such as Pafford's were repeated many times last week when Tropical Storm Ida, what was left of her, came calling at Smith Mountain Lake. The remnants dumped heavy rain on the area, raising the lake levels to almost two feet above full pond, loosening boats from their moorings and sending a torrent of debris downstream.

During the three days of flooding, lake residents and volunteer rescue workers scrambled as they tried to avoid the heavy concentration of debris and damage to personal property incurred in the 2004 flood when lake levels topped out at 797.42 feet.

The Tri-County Lake Administrative Commission, which spearheads debris removal on the lake, has been fielding calls from homeowners whose coves have filled with woody and man-made debris.

"So far, the calls seem to be coming from two specific areas: Bay Roc and B37 up to the 4-H Center," said Pam Dinkle, TLAC's lake management and project coordinator.

She said most of the debris appears to be natural, with many tree branches, but fewer whole trees. In addition to cluttering the coves, the debris can create navigational hazards, said Dinkle.

TLAC will be working with Appalachian Power company to clean up the affected areas. John Shepelwich, an Appalachian spokesman, said its debris skimmer currently is on Leesville Lake. It was moved in October after four months of cleaning up debris on the Blackwater arm of SML.

"We'll start working on that [SML debris] as soon as we can," said Shepelwich.

For SML Marine Volunteer Fire/Rescue, three days of heavy rain meant three days of nonstop action and a chance to see how a couple of its trio of new fireboats performed under pressure. Volunteers traveled from one call to another.

"People would look out their windows and see boats where they didn't belong or find out they had an extra boat at their boathouse that floated in overnight," said Capt. Al Busch of Fire/Rescue.

Members of the all-volunteer group towed approximately 30 boats and personal watercraft; pumped out two water-laden boats; rescued two floating docks; and came to the aid of two boats that ran aground, according to Busch.

One, a 30-foot cabin cruiser, ran into a peninsula in a cove behind Waterwheel Marina. The peninsula, normally visible to boaters, was buried underneath the water, obscuring it from the boat operator. Marine Fire/Rescue's fireboat battled heavy winds but was able to pull it off the peninsula, Busch said.

A boat belonging to the family of the late evangelist Jerry Falwell, who founded and served as president of Liberty University in Lynchburg, emerged in Franklin County about a mile from the family home in Bedford County, Busch said. It was towed to Bridgewater Marina.

There were, however, a few rays of sunshine peeking through an otherwise dark sky.

Many SML homeowners, including a group in Betty's Creek, learned from flooding in 2004 and moved their watercraft out of their boathouses and tied them to floaters, Busch said. In addition, cellphones helped dispatchers and rescue personnel pin down the locations of those who needed help.

And is often the case, natural disasters bring out the best in people.

Peter Coriasco and Stan Smith delivered impromptu warnings to neighbors urging them to remove objects in danger of floating away or causing damage to their stationary docks and followed up with e-mails.

"Stan took one side of the street and I took the other," said Coriasco.

They were joined by other residents who checked the docks of those who weren't around to make sure their valuables were safe.

On Tranquility Road along Sailor's Cove, Rick Cobaugh, Ken Lauterstein, Tom Fansler and Will and Mary Hockersmith helped neighbors move boats, adjust docks and, where necessary, shut off electrical power.

If you're missing watercraft or personal items, call the sheriff's department for Bedford or Franklin counties with the registration number or description of the items.

Jerry Hale, Ferne Hale and Ken Lauterstein contributed to this report.