UPDATE 3:30 p.m.
Washington County crews cleared roads Wednesday afternoon after flooding hit multiple places, officials said.
Emergency workers said no one was hurt, but lightning started at least one house fire.
Firefighters put out a fire at 6:27 a.m. at 608 N. Mcleod Drive, but there was not much damage, said Dale Riggins with the Fayetteville Fire Department. The home is owned by Dustin and Lyndsey Weber, county property records show.
Blue Springs Road, north of Goshen, has a large gash where floodwater washed away a culvert, said Rick Johnson, deputy director of the Washington County emergency management department. That road will take time to repair, he said.
The county does not yet have estimates for damages from the flooding, said Charles Ward, superintendent with the road department.
Emergency workers went to six incidents before 2 p.m. where people were stranded in water, Johnson said. Most of those were people who attempted to drive through floodwater over roads and got caught in the water, he said.
As of 2:30 p.m., all of Hamstring Road and part of Savoy Road at the intersection of Arkansas 16 were closed, Johnson said. Water covered and forced the closure of Mally Wagnon and Edgewood roads. By 2 p.m., Tilly Willy and Harvey Dowell Road bridges were taped off because water covered the bridges, Johnson said.
Small cities countywide updated residents via social media as roads closed temporarily and were reopened when the water started receding.
The Illinois River began go back down about 1:30 p.m., according to the Prairie Grove Police Department. All roads in Prairie Grove were open at noon.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office reported Creek and Harmon roads were closed Wednesday afternoon. Creek Road is near Lincoln. Harmon Road is near Fayetteville.
Mount Olive Road and First Street in Elkins and Ball Street in Johnson also were still closed.
UPDATE 10:34 a.m.
BENTONVILLE — Benton County officials reported two house fires, both caused by lightning, along with many downed trees in the wake of Wednesday morning’s severe weather.
Robert McGowen, the county’s emergency services administrator, said one house fire was reported in the Garfield area and another in the Lowell area.
“It was minor damage,” McGowen said.
Marc Trollinger, the county’s fire marshal, said he had been to the house fires and confirmed the cause.
“There were two fires I’m sure were caused by lightning strikes,” Trollinger said. “We’ve also had two or three houses with trees through the roofs. There are lots of downed trees in people’s yards, probably from ground saturation, and the trees are pulling down power lines.”
McGowen also said the county had reports of falling trees having hit residences in the Beaver Lake and Little Flock areas.
McGowen said the weather forecast doesn’t offer much chance of a respite.
“The next weather is expected Friday into Saturday,” McGowen said. “We’re looking at another 4 to 6 inches.”
Jay Frasier, the county’s Public Services Administrator and head of the Road Department, said his crews were mostly dealing with downed trees. At mid-morning, Frasier said. there were no county roads closed, but that could change if the rain continues.
“We are at 28 roads with multiple trees down,” Frasier said. “We’ve got them all opened up right now. It just depends on if it rains all day. We may have some closed because of flooding tonight if that happens.”
Frasier said the additional rain now being predicted will only worsen the situation.
“The ground is saturated right now,” he said. “If it keeps raining today we’ll just have a one-day window for it to dry out. With the saturation we’ve got now, most of the rain we get from here on will be runoff.”
UPDATE 9:34 a.m.
SPRINGDALE - The city of Springdale has closed several streets due to flooding, Melissa Reeves, director of public relations, said in a press release.
Ivey Lane, Maple Avenue by Murphy Park, Puppy Creek and the 56th Street bridge over Spring Creek have been closed. The city asked drivers not to drive around barrels or barricades.
9 a.m.
FAYETTEVILLE - Rick Johnson, Washington County Emergency Services director said there's been a lot of rain and flash flooding in the county since the rain moved in overnight, leading to several water rescues by emergency responders of people who tried to drive through flooded areas.
"We've had several people driving into water this morning," Johnson said. "I guess they thought they needed to make it to work. Several of them didn't make it. Don't drive into standing water."
Streets in Fayetteville and Johnson as well as several county roads have flooded and have been closed, Johnson said. In Fayetteville there have been several problems with Gregg Street and Porter Road, Johnson said.
Emergency management officials are continuing to monitor the rain and resulting conditions as well as the responses by various emergency responders.
NW News on 04/26/2017