UPDATE: Rain closes roads across Northwest Arkansas, Cave Springs residents still under boil order

Clayton Hungate, and officer with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, examines the White River.
Clayton Hungate, and officer with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, examines the White River.

3 p.m.

Cave Springs residents along Highway 264 are still under a boil water order until further notice until the city finds a permanent solution, Police Chief Rick Crisman said.

“It’s not going to be a one or two day thing. It’s going to be several days,” Crisman said.

Water has been restored as of 2:30 p.m. today to residents who live west of Osage Creek on Hwy 264, but they are still under boil orders. Crisman said about 40 to 50 customers are affected.

The rest of the city is OK, he said.

A main water line broke around 6-7 a.m. today, he said. Many Cave Springs residents in town felt their water pressure go down around that time, but the west side of Osage Creek had no water for part of today.

1:30 p.m.

The National Weather Service in Tulsa reports rain will continue to move east and be out of the Fayetteville area by 2 p.m. but parts of Benton and Washington county are under a flood warning until 9 p.m.

As of 9 a.m. Saturday morning, 5.35 inches of rain have fallen since Tuesday, the Weather Service said.

As of 12:25 p.m., the following roads are closed, according to the Benton County Division of Public Safety Facebook page: Anzack Road, Benson Road, Bill Billings Road, Chamber Springs Road, Coon Hollow Road, Fisher Ford Road, Gene Law Road, Gooseberry Road, Haden Road, Holloway Road between Highway 71 and Bella Vista, Kincheloe Road, Limekiln Road near Mt. Olive, Parrick Road, Pearl Road, Pierce Road, Mill Dam Road, Pritchard Road, Rocky Dell Road, Shinn Springs Road, Snavely bridge on Snavely Road, West Point Road.

10:44 a.m.

A water main break in Cave Springs has forced the Cave Springs Water Department to issue a boil order for any residents living west of the Highway 264 bridge, the city said in a Facebook post.

Kelly Cantrell with the Washington County Sheriff's Office said the following roads are closed due to flooding in Washington County: Sbannoto Avenue, Harvey Dowell Road, Pin Oak Road, Blue Mountain Road and Goose Creek Road.

9:48 a.m.

Rain from Friday night's storms has already closed several roads in Benton County, Deputy Director of Benton County Emergency Management Michael Waddle said.

The following Benton County bridges and roads have been closed: the bridge on Snavely Road, Bill Billings Road, Gooseberry Road, Pierce Road, Pearl Road, Mullens Road, Gene Law Road, Mill Dam Road, Lenard Ranch Road and the Pritchard Road intersection. They have all been serviced by road crews and either barricaded or flagged to discourage traffic, Waddle said.

"We want folks to be aware of their own safety," Waddle said. "If you can't see the bottom of the road, it's probably not safe. The road or bridge could be compromised or there could be dangerous debris."

Benton County Emergency Management will continue pushing flood alerts and updating its Facebook and Twitter pages, Waddle said. Residents can sign up for notifications at bcalert.com, follow Facebook at Facebook.com/bcpublicsafety and follow Twitter at Twitter.com/bcpublicsafety.

The National Weather Service in Tulsa is advising Northwest Arkansas citizens to be aware of severe thunderstorms and flash floods.

NW News on 02/25/2018

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