Heraclio Rodriguez and Lynda Rodriguez return from a family members home with belongings and as the area along Country Club Road in Bridgeport was placed under evacuation recommendations Friday afternoon. AUSTIN JACKSON | WCMESSENGER
Heavy, sustained rainfall continues to test Wise County’s reservoirs, prompting the evacuation of around a dozen homes and the closure of several major roads.
On Friday afternoon, Heraclio Rodriguez and Lynda Rodriguez waded through knee-deep water rushing across Country Club Road to persuade elderly family members to evacuate.
This has happened before in the area off of Farm Road 2123, just outside of Bridgeport’s city limits.
Heraclio Rodriguez wades through the water rushing over Country Club Road. BRENDAN MARCHAND | WCMESSENGER
The neighborhood near Bridgeport Country Club was inundated with water, and projections indicate that the situation will worsen before it gets better.
While they only returned back with some belongings earlier Friday, as of 5:45 p.m. Friday, all but three families in the area under an evacuation recommendation did leave for dry land, said Decatur City Manager Nate Mara, who is serving as the public information officer at the Wise County Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
The flood warning for the West Fork Trinity River near Boyd and Big Sandy Creek near Bridgeport remains in effect until further notice, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Water is now reported over roadways at many locations around Wise County, and as the lake continues to take on massive amounts of water.
The Wise County EOC has been active since Wednesday this week, as officials and first responders continue to navigate rapidly changing conditions, particularly with travel impacts from flooded roads.
The group is monitoring a sharp influx of water into Lake Bridgeport and subsequent discharge, which has led to widespread road closures.
The Lake Bridgeport spillway steadily raised its discharge levels Friday as the lake was inundated with inflows from heavy rainfall. BRENDAN MARCHAND | WCMESSENGER
A pump jack was taking on water between Bridgeport and Runaway Bay. AUSTIN JACKSON | WCMESSENGER
Tarrant Regional Water District has steadily ramped up discharge from Lake Bridgeport and water was being released at a rate of 9,450 cubic feet per second (CFS) as of 4:50 p.m. Friday to manage the lake level. According to the TRWD dashboard, the lake is at 838.58 feet, up around 2.5 feet. The district is attempting to thread a needle to keep the level below 839 feet to mitigate flooding of homes around the lake and to keep discharge below a certain level to prevent more damaging flooding downstream.
The Wise County Office of Emergency Management has published a dashboard of road conditions, which will be updated, and it is embedded below. You can also view this here.
Major roads affected include Farm Road 730 north of Boyd, Farm Road 3259 between Paradise and Decatur and Farm Road 920 near Bridgeport as well as many county roads. In Runaway Bay just west of the U.S. 380 bridge, water has risen to the edge of the roadway. Country Club Road in Bridgeport is also closed due to heavy flooding.
There are several variables between rainfall, discharge and intake at Lake Bridgeport, what’s coming from Amon Carter Lake and the delayed impact downstream, with rainfall hitting different water sheds.
Water rushed downstream through the West Fork of the Trinity River Friday. BRENDAN MARCHAND | WCMESSENGER
Lake Bridgeport’s water level rose sharply Friday, raising concerns with flooding around the lake and forcing the Tarrant Regional Water District to ramp up discharge downstream. BRENDAN MARCHAND | WCMESSENGER
Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Cody Powell said that local flooding could peak Monday morning.
“We think, with the rainfall that came today, that we’re not at peak inflow yet,” Powell said Friday afternoon. “We’re waiting on the inflows to stabilize, and until it does, it’s hard to tell how much water is going to be coming into the lake. But Wise County’s planning assumption is that road conditions, as they are right now, will either be the same or worse Monday morning.”
A trailer with sand bags was parked outside the One Stop gas station in Runaway Bay, as lake levels rose again Friday. Employees of the gas station said the water has been creeping up, and they were worried that it would continue. AUSTIN JACKSON | WCMESSENGER
Wise County officials expect all currently closed roads to remain closed through the weekend.
Use alternate routes if possible, and never attempt to drive through high water.
“Please plan ahead and never drive through flooded areas,” Wise County OEM shared Friday.
Loading Comments