BENTON COUNTY : Lost Bridge Marina hurt by high winds
Posted on Monday, July 7, 2008
BEAVER LAKE — Straightline winds estimated by the National Weather Service in excess of 70 mph pounded Lost Bridge Marina on Beaver Lake on Saturday, snapping 1-inch steel cables, setting docks adrift and sinking walkways.
One section of boat dock drifted more than 20 feet into another set of covered boat slips. It took a diver to locate the main walkway — one of three set adrift — that carried people from the parking lot to the marina office.
Campers also got blown about by the storm, which hit just after 8 p.m. “There were people in three tents on the site next to ours when the storm hit, and they got rolled right down the street — tents and all,” said St. Louis resident James Luesse. “One of [our gazebos ] got picked up and thrown, but we didn’t get rolled like those folks. No one was hurt, but their stuff was a complete loss.” Marina owner Bob Bauer said no one was hurt, but the storm caused the most damage than any he had seen in the 21 years he’s owned the marina. What remained unclear Sunday was how much damage had been done.
The Hazardous Materials teams of the Rogers and Bentonville fire departments were called to the marina on a report that a gas line had been damaged. Initial estimates were that up to 300 gallons of fuel had spilled into Beaver Lake, but Bauer contended that just 3 gallons to 5 gallons — the volume able to fit in the line that ran from the holding tank and the pump — had spilled.
“There are security valves, and there’s no way more than a few gallons got out,” Bauer said.
According to the report filed by the Benton County Department of Emergency Management to the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, 250 gallons to 300 gallons of fuel were estimated to have spilled into the lake.
“The number we had in our official report to the state was 250 to 300 gallons,” said Marshal Watson, director of Benton County Department of Emergency Management. “That’s a firm number. HazMat responded to the marina, and we’re confident we have an accurate estimate.” Watson said a strong smell of gasoline and a light sheen were detected on the water’s surface. HazMat teams placed absorbent booms around the marina and managed to contain what he believes was the majority of the spill.
Bauer and staff worked Sunday afternoon to shuttle campers to their boats, and a diver still was attempting to free one of the submerged walkways that had been jarred loose during the storm.
“There’s a lot of damage, so I’m just taking it one thing at a time,” Bauer said. “I’m doing what I can do and hoping the good Lord won’t throw another storm at us tonight. I’ve been here since last night and I’m kind of running on empty, but we’re going to get the place back in shape.”
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