State workers at Montauk State Park clean up concrete rearing pools on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, one day after massive rains washed over the berm and released an untold number of rainbow trout into the Current River.
SALEM, Mo. 鈥 Kyle Case, hatchery manager at Montauk State Park, remained an optimist Wednesday, one day after a massive amount of rain hit south-central Missouri and swept an untold number of rainbow trout 鈥 some tiny, some huge 鈥 into the headwaters of the Current River.
He wouldn鈥檛 estimate or describe the situation as a loss.
鈥淭he flood stocked a lot of fish prematurely,鈥 Case said.
There were recently 950,000 head of fish in various stages of development held in the system of ponds, concrete pools and tanks along the Current River at Montauk. Receding water revealed a lot of destruction, but it was still too murky Wednesday afternoon to see the bottom.
鈥淭he water was ripping through here. They would have hunkered down,鈥 Case said of the fish. 鈥淲e are hoping they did that.鈥
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Kyle Case, hatchery manager at Montauk State Park, walks by the trout hatchery pools which were overcome by flooding from the Current River on Wednesday, Nov. 6.
But he said people had been collecting some fish from the nearby woods, in pools of floodwater.
鈥淲herever there is a puddle, there is fish in them,鈥 Case said. 鈥淲e are trying to save them the best we can.鈥
Montauk, one of five state hatcheries and a destination for thousands of trout anglers each year, received about 12.5 inches of rain on Monday and Tuesday. New lines of sand and mud remained, eight to 10 feet above the rearing pools that Case was clearing out.
鈥淭he cleanup will take months because there is so much destruction,鈥 Case said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 not just here at the hatchery.鈥
Some cabins were gutted. Picnic areas looked like beaches, covered in new drifts of sand. Sections of asphalt ripped from parking lots lay scattered in the grass like strips of muddy carpet.
鈥淚鈥檝e never seen anything like this,鈥 said Don Hagler, 76, of Salem, assessing the damage. 鈥淣ever.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 a sanctuary,鈥 added Tom Wiley, 58, who drove down from Clifton Heights in 最新杏吧原创 to check out the area he visits often. 鈥淚 just come down to recharge the batteries. I have never seen anything this destructive down here.鈥
Several miles downstream, water got so high that it ripped out the gauge that measures river levels at Akers Ferry, a popular camping and canoe rental spot.
鈥淭his is the biggest flood we鈥檝e ever had on the upper Current River,鈥 said William Terry, chief of facilities and maintenance at Ozark National Scenic Riverways. 鈥淭his will be challenging for visitors to access the river, but we are going to be doing the best we can to get the park opened up.鈥
Part of the damage left at Montauk State Park on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. The park was hit by 12.59 inches of rain on Monday and Tuesday.
View life in 最新杏吧原创 through the Post-Dispatch photographers' lenses. Edited by Jenna Jones.
Photos: Record rains cause flash floods. Rising rivers are swamping parts of Missouri
Brookdale Farms draft horse Spartan romps in the flood waters from the Meramec and Big rivers, which shut down operations at the event facility on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. James Vavak, general manager, said 250 of the farm鈥檚 300 acres were flooded. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a beautiful view but it鈥檚 going to leave a mess behind,鈥 said Vavak. 鈥淲e鈥檒l see what else Mother Nature throws my way.鈥
"I think we got lucky," said Doug Plowman, who checks on his son's home on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Pacific. The Meramec River crested below the original forecast.
Wayne Adams, facility manager at Family Golf and Learning Center in 最新杏吧原创 County, talks to managers as he looks over the flooded driving range targets as the Meramec River crested early on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024.
Highland cattle Pebbles, left, and Bam Bam, residents of Brookdale Farms near Eureka, enjoy floodwater from the confluence of the Meramec and Big rivers as it begins to recede on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. James Vavak, general manager of the event facility, said that an upcoming weekend wedding had to be moved after 250 of the farm鈥檚 300 acres were flooded. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a beautiful view but it鈥檚 going to leave a mess behind,鈥 said Vavak. 鈥淲e鈥檒l see what else Mother Nature throws my way.鈥
鈥淚 think we got lucky,鈥 said Doug Plowman, as he calls his son on the phone to tell him that only a few inches of water got into the basement of his son鈥檚 home on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Pacific. The Meramec River crested below the original forecast.
"We are just seeing the light of the situation," said Robert Brownlee, left, who hunts for worms with his roommate Steve Johnson in the aftermath of flooding from the Meramec River on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Pacific.
Robert Brownlee hunts for worms in the aftermath of the flooding Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Pacific. The Meramec River crested below the original forecast.
Flooded vehicles are left behind on Twin River Road at Highway W near Eureka as the confluence of the Meramec and Big rivers shut down the area to traffic on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024.
鈥淚鈥檝e been up all night,鈥 says Jeff Forbus, who was moving items from his yard and sheds into his house on Thursday before the Meramec River crests in Pacific.
An RV camper is lodged against a pillar of the old Route 66 Bridge as a rising Meramec River floods Route 66 State Park near Eureka on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024.
Zander Beckerdite, 7, fills sand bags with Pacific School Resource Officer Nicolas Winchester, left, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, as a rising Meramec River is expected to flood parts of Pacific.
"The water is coming up," said Sara Brundick, left, sandbags the doorway of her house with help from friends including Sarah Dubuque on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, before the Meramec River crests in Pacific.
"I've been up all night," said Jeff Forbus, who moves items from his shed into his house on higher ground on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, before the Meramec River crests in Pacific.
"I am getting nervous. This is my first flood," said Sierra Haug, who waits for a friend arrive so she and her roommate can move their furniture before they leave their house on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, before the Meramec River crests in Pacific.
Lynn Whitson loads up items from his house onto a trailer lent by his friend Keith Neustaedter, left, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, before the Meramec River crests in Pacific. Whitson and his roommate plan to evacuate before the flood hits.
The entrance to Route 66 State Park near Eureka is underwater from the flooding Meramec River on Thursday, Nov. 7.
Missouri Department of Transportation workers close Highway 141 under Interstate 44 near Valley Park as floodwater from the Meramec River begins to fill the lowlying underpass in 最新杏吧原创 County on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024.
Doug Wurst was among those filling sandbags on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, to prepare for flooding in Pacific, Mo. As the Meramec River continued to rise, officials urged residents to evacuate parts of the city.
Part of the damage left at Montauk State Park on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. The park was hit by 12.59 inches of rain on Monday and Tuesday.
Doug Lampe mops the floors at his father Mitch Lampe鈥檚 Omni Refrigeration Services on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, after Deer Creek flooded the business on the Brentwood-Webster Groves border. The building on Breckenridge Industrial Court last flooded in 2022, as shown in photos of that flood hanging on the office wall.
Michael Lillard tosses ruined beer stored in the basement of the Trainwreck Saloon in Rock Hill on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 after Deer Creek flooded the business late Monday. George Hansford鈥檚 business flooded twice in 2022 and he said this was the second worst flood, with 18 inches filling the bar and restaurant. He hopes to reopen this weekend.
Morning walkers have a look at the aftermath of flooding from Deer Creek, left, on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, at the newly developed Brentwood Park. The park鈥檚 design increased and restored part of the creek鈥檚 natural floodplain to help mitigate flash flooding of developed areas.
David Hill climbs over ruined cases of beer removed from the basement of the Trainwreck Saloon in Rock Hill on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 after Deer Creek flooded the business late Monday. George Hansford鈥檚 business flooded twice in 2022 and he said this was the second worst flood since he bought it in 1982, with 18 inches filling the bar and restaurant. He hopes to reopen this weekend.
Mitch Lampe, owner of Omni Refrigeration Services in Webster Groves, cleans up after more than a foot of floodwater from Deer Creek filled his business late Monday, on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. The building on Breckenridge Industrial Court, that last flooded in 2022, flooded again but the water receded quickly and left less mud. 鈥淭hat was the 1000 year flood,鈥 said Lampe, of the 2022 event.
Michael Lillard, left, and David Hill remove ruined beer kegs from the basement of the Trainwreck Saloon in Rock Hill on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, after Deer Creek flooded the business. Owner George Hansford, whose business flooded twice in 2022, said this was the second-worst flood since he bought it in 1982, with 18 inches filling the bar and restaurant.
Service manager Tom Coffman cuts drywall from flooded interior walls of Omni Refrigeration Services in Webster Groves on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 after Deer Creek flooded the business late Monday. The building on Breckenridge Industrial Court, that last flooded in 2022, flooded again but the water receded quickly and left less mud. 鈥淭hat was the 1000 year flood,鈥 said owner Mitch Lampe of the 2022 event.
State workers at Montauk State Park clean up concrete rearing pools on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, one day after massive rains washed over the berm and released an untold number of rainbow trout into the Current River.
A maintenance truck drives through floodwaters on northbound I-55 as southbound cars drive on the shoulder near Union Road in 最新杏吧原创 County on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024.
Police block Hoffmeister Avenue near the I-55 northbound ramp off Union Road in 最新杏吧原创 County after heavy rains flooded the area on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a heck of a way to celebrate my birthday,鈥 says Kurt Tweedy, after waking up to discover his flooded vehicle outside Station House apartments just north of Skinker and Olive boulevards on Tuesday morning, Nov. 5, 2024 in the West End area of 最新杏吧原创. Tweedy is 34 today.
A flooded minivan sits in high water under the MetroLink overpass near Skinker and Olive boulevards on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 in 最新杏吧原创. At one point, the vehicle was completely underwater. A short time later, a sewer unclogged and the intersection drained.
An RV camper is lodged in a pillar of the old Route 66 Bridge as a rising Meramec River floods Route 66 State Park near Eureka on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024.
Motorists drive through Meramec River floodwater covering Soccer Park Road near Fenton on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024.
