| November 6, 2006 - As most families were settling down at the table for dinner, storms came rapidly into the area. The rain fell hard and fast. The sky was covered in steel colored black and lightening bolts were coming down in all colors. A storm of beauty, but yet turmoil. The fast and hard hitting storm dumped 3 to 5 inches of rain quickly and caused severe flooding in many areas, hardest hit was Western Ross County, Ohio - 10 miles West of Chillicothe, OH.
By 1:49 a.m. the West side of Ross County was in a State of Emergency due to high water. At 5:15 a.m. that morning, the warning was lifted due to the water receding.
The Ross County Sheriff's Office had 9 road units, 3 units with the hovercraft, 7 units from the dive team, and 2 units with the Union Township Water Rescue Squad out helping during the night.
Water rescue by the Ross Sheriff's Office was continued throughout the night all over the Western part of Ross County as reports came in of several people trapped in their homes and needing rescued. Deputy Chief Hayburn, Deputy Matt Litter and Lt. Kevin Pierce responded on the Sheriff's Office Hovercraft. The dive team was also needed for various rescues. These people were rescued and transported to safety by way of the hovercraft. Some residence found themselves trapped in their vehicles due to high water. While others wanted rescued from their homes as the water surrounded them.
This article is taken from rosssheriff.com.
We were called out during this intense storm. In less than 15 minutes we were in route to the area where the storm was the most concentrated. As we made our way to Bainbridge, we had some doubts that we would reach our destination. The highway that we were traveling on had many spots that were covered by water; in some cases two feet deep. The rain wouldn't quit and only the flashes of lightening would make it possible for us to see through the rain. We all felt that we were driving into the heart of a monster. We located the road that would lead us to our first distress call. As we proceeded toward our first destination we encountered wash outs that covered the road with 2 feet of dirt and rocks that collapsed off of the hillsides from the heavy rains. We were in a four wheel drive GMC Jimmy pulling a Hoverguard 700 hovercraft and trailer. Not being discouraged by the obstacle, we drove over the debris only to encounter two more identical obstacles in the road. Luckily we were able to get over each of these debris fields and continue on to the first address of distress. We turned on to the road that was home to the first victims. We were discouraged to see live electrical lines down across the road; not to mention that a bridge over a usually quiet creek was now overcome by a foot of water over its decking. We made the decision to drive across the bridge even though water was raging over the bridge perpendicular to our course of travel. Both truck and hovercraft made it safely to the other side. We were approximately 1/4 mile from our destination when we decided to use an area that would allow us to safely unload the hovercraft. The rain was driving so hard that even with the cockpit drain plugs pulled; the cockpit was still filling with water. We kept the bilge pump going to evacuate the rain water until we were able to fire the engine. The craft was successfully unloaded on the roadside at which time Chief Hayburn, Lt. Pierce and me jumped in the craft and proceeded to hover down the county road until we reached the victims' address. When we arrived at 1:00 a.m. the rains continued to make it difficult to see, but the lights from the hovercraft illuminated the area well and made it possible to continue the operation. Ahead of us was a small field with a tree line separating us from the victims' home. There was an 8' wide opening in the tree line, which was the only opening to get to the residence. Right in that small opening was a 3 foot standing wave that was charging downhill perpendicular to our course. We proceeded to aim for the opening through the trees; avoiding bushes and other vegetation that were sticking up above the water. Not able to get a straight shot at the opening, we had to keep the throttle open enough so that when we went through the gap we would have enough speed to break through the standing wave. We charged the opening and slightly grazed a tree, and then we plowed through the standing wave. The force of the water had some impact on the hovercraft's direction, but we were easily able to compensate to regain our course. We arrived at the residence and saw five people waiting to be rescued; two adults and three children. You could see the water raising and we knew we only had a few minutes to get those people out. One deputy was left at the residence to provide comfort for the remaining family awaiting rescue. We loaded the children first. Our first load consisted of three children and two deputies. The toughest thing about this rescue was knowing that each time you went to and from the residence we would have to "shoot" that small opening in the tree line while successfully negotiating the ill-placed 3 foot standing wave. Again we built up speed to quickly get through the standing wave, while at the same time staying lined up with the opening in the trees. We were completely surrounded in darkness except for the occasional lightening flash; we had no knowledge of the area or what lay in wait for us if we were thrown off course and down current. We had to put that out of our minds and focus on shooting the gap, while managing the forces of the standing wave. We successfully negotiated the gap and delivered the children to the rescue workers who were standing by on the county road. We again shot the gap to return for the adults. We picked them up and shot the gap a fourth time and delivered them to the same place as their children. We had one trip left to go; back to the residence to pick up the deputy. By this time the rain was so intense that the air filter on the hovercraft was getting wet. This was making the engine run rich, but wasn't enough to drown it. It was an eerie feeling not knowing if the power was going to be there when you needed it, but we had one more person to retrieve. Again we shot the gap and returned to the residence. Now the flood waters were raging only 5 feet from the front door of the residence. We quickly collected Lt. Pierce and for the sixth and last time shot the gap and returned to the county road. With our hearts in our throats, we were glad that it was over and everyone was o.k. The adrenalin was pumping through all of our veins as we hovered down a dark county road back to the Jimmy and the hovertrailer. As we loaded the hovercraft back on its trailer, we could see with every lightening strike the raging waters that were coursing through a typically benign creek; it sent chills down our spines because we then realized what a dangerous situation we had been through.
As we proceeded to leave the first rescue scene, more and more distress calls were coming over the radio; it was easy to see that we were in for a long night. We again had to negotiate the wash outs that were covering the road that led to the main highway. As we cleared the last obstacle we were dispatched to a small village North of Bainbridge. We arrived on the scene at 2:30 a.m. Highway 41 was underwater because Buckskin creek was out of its banks and the water run off from the neighboring hills. The smell of fuel oil was everywhere as the scene was truly a disaster. We drove as far as we could until we came to where Rt. 41 was submerged. We unloaded the hovercraft and then proceeded to a house that was being inundated with water. To get to this house we had to hover over what used to be the highway. There were two currents merging into one; the current from Buckskin creek and the water run off from the hillsides. We traveled about a 1/2 mile over these raging waters. On our first trip across the flood waters we narrowly missed being hit by a floating fuel oil tank. The tank was traveling fast with the current. If it had hit us, we probably wouldn't be here right now. The hovercraft carried us across the raging flood waters to the other side. We were now able to hover over visible parts of the highway. Just as soon as the highway appeared it disappeared under water again. We traveled far enough that we could now see the house that was surrounded by water. Two people were stranded in their home. We hovered up to the porch and quickly loaded them in. The storm began to rage again as we were heading back to safety. Before we reached the flooded area of the highway, we were traveling back over the part of Rt. 41 that wasn't under water. Just when we thought everything was under control a wall of water dropped out of nowhere; impacting the hovercraft from the top and side. The estimated 2 foot water shed hit us with such force that it washed us off of the road into a drainage ditch. We would later learn that there was a 30 foot cliff face next to the highway and water was collecting on top of it during the storm. As luck would have it, it finally reached the tipping point and became a water fall. It was pitch black there and it hit us without warning. Both Lt. Pierce and I instructed our passengers to stay in the craft while we tried to get the craft back up onto the road. We successfully pushed the craft with our two occupants out of the ditch. We took a minute to catch our breathes and check over the hovercraft. The force of the impact against a fence row next to the drainage ditch unhooked all of the skirting of the starboard side. Not wanting to wait around to see what else was going to happen, the decision was made to leave Lt. Pierce behind and take the two victims back to where the rescue personnel were standing by. With half of the skirting dangling beneath the craft, the craft came up on cushion and traveled well. With the two passengers and me we traversed the flooded part of the highway and returned to our starting point. After the two ladies were safe, I took a few minutes to fix the skirting back to their original positions; at the same time I was able to stay in radio contact with Lt. Pierce to make sure he was still o.k. With the skirting fixed, I returned across the flooded highway to retrieve Lt. Pierce. Lt. Pierce jumped into the craft and we safely returned to our starting point. While we were making this rescue, Rt. 41 was flooding behind us; thereby possibly trapping us. We loaded the hovercraft onto its trailer and decided to see if we could get out of the area. We came to the area that was beginning to flood. We estimated that the water was about 3 foot deep in a span of 20 feet. We decided to try to cross this area; not the best decision that we ever made. As we drove the Jimmy into the water the headlights disappeared and then water began lapping against the windshield. Not eager to become a statistic, Chief Hayburn pressed the accelerator and the Jimmy with the hovercraft in tow came up and out of the water-luckily.
Having a night full of this kind of excitement was enough for two life times, but as we would find out, this wasn't the end of the night. We called the dispatcher to let them know that the 2nd rescue was successful and we were available for any other calls. It just so happened that two motorist had driven into flood waters and were stranded. The location of the victims was about 30 minutes from our location. We radioed back and said that we were in route. At 4:30 a.m. we arrived at the scene. We were on another county road next to a raging creek. This time two motorists had driven their cars into the water where they stalled. We unloaded the hovercraft on to the road. We evacuated the rain water from the cockpit that again collected from the deluge. We fired up the engine and Lt. Pierce and me hovered to and retrieved the motorists. This scene seemed somewhat surreal because when we arrived there was a news truck there from Columbus to cover the story. Their crew's lights lit up the area to some degree, but knowing that a camera was catching every move offered its own distractions. As the hovercraft returned the motorists to safety by flying out of the water and up on to the "dry" road, the news media was there with microphone in hand to immediately interview the victims. After the media dispersed we were then directed to another part of the county, but when we arrived the flood waters had already receded.
The night filled with scary moments and danger was finally over. The hovercraft did its job incredibly well. It returned those who were victims and those who were apart of its team safely. After being questioned by some in the community as to its justification, it quickly quieted its critics. The words of those who were rescued were testimony enough as to its worth. We accomplished things that only a hovercraft could have accomplished. No other vehicle type was able to attempt what was performed by the hovercraft that night. No helicopter could have flown during that storm and no boat of any type could have been deployed in those waters. It was interesting to note that many rescue boats showed up to a couple of the rescue scenes, but none left their trailers. The hovercraft proved its worth to the community, to the department and to many others. Now neighboring communities are asking why they don't have a hovercraft.
Article by Deputy Matt Litter
Ross County Sheriff's Department
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