The voluntary evacuation Monday morning of about a dozen residents from the Broad Creek area of Harford County proved to be a purely precautionary measure, as water levels at a nearby dam never reached a dangerous height.
Members of the Darlington Volunteer Fire Company went door to door downstream from the Broad Creek Dam, after storm-swollen waters prompted state and county officials to ask residents to leave in case the dam gave way, said Darlington Chief Sam Sauers.
“We ran into 10 or 12 people. … Most were already packing up their belongings when we got there,” Sauers said.
The Darlington Fire Company and the Broad Creek Memorial Scout Reservation were opened to evacuees, but none had arrived by midday.
Early Monday, officials at the scout reservation were providing 911 operators with hourly updates on the flow of water over the 56-year-old dam at the end of Lake Aaron Straus, said director Reed Blom.
At its peak, the water was 3 feet deep as it passed over the dam ? more than the usual depth of 1 foot, but not approaching the “critical” level of 5 feet, Blom said.
Camp activities continued, but the lake was closed to swimmers and boaters as an additional precaution.
Most of the affected homes were unoccupied summer cabins, with docks and boats bobbing in the water that was flowing high but slowly about a mile away from the dam. Many were built along the hillside, high above the languid brown water.
“I thought, ?If I need to evacuate, I?ll just walk up my steps,? ” said Jan Nethen, president of the Broad Creek Civic Association and owner of a cabin built 100 steps above the water level. “People would lose their boats and piers long before it touched anything else.”
Even if the dam was suddenly overwhelmed by flood waters, the lake behind it is only about 2 feet deep across its 40 acres, Blom said.
“The lake is so shallow, there?s not enough water to cause a problem. You wouldn?t see a wall of water,” he said.
Despite waters that began to recede at about 9 a.m., the evacuation order remained in place for most of the day because of recurring rain showers passing through the county, said Harford County spokeswoman Sue Collins.
Drivers were urged to avoid flooded roads, since only a few inches of water would be sufficient to float a sport utility vehicle from its intended path, she said.
One crew told her of a tow truck pulling a stranded car from standing water. A cocksure SUV driver drove straight past the tow truck and the rescued car ? only to plow into the same deep water and become stuck as well, Collins said.
