Gustav saturates state; 106,000 in dark

LITTLE ROCK — The remnants of Hurricane Gustav lingered over Arkansas on Wednesday, dumping rain that flooded rivers and some businesses and cutting off power to more than 100,000 statewide.

Some communities, including Hampton in CalhounCounty and Hot Springs in Garland County, have gotten nearly a foot of rain since the storm system moved into the region late Monday, said John Lewis,senior forecaster with the National Weather Service in North Little Rock.

Nineteen counties, most in south Arkansas, had declared emergencies by late Wednesday, the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management reported. It was unclear if any of the counties will seek state aid to help recover from theflooding.

About 106,000 electric customers were without power Wednesday afternoon as trees fell under the weight of rain and from winds that gusted up to 40 mph. Several schools were closed because of power failures.

Utility crews struggled to keep up with demand. Entergy Arkansas Inc. recalled half of the 400 linemen it sent Monday to help restore power to storm-hit communities along the Gulf Coast. The company also brought in nearly 200 linemen from Missouri and Ohio who had been on their way to Louisiana.

But strong winds made it too risky to climb poles or work in utility-truck buckets high above the ground, delaying power restoration.

"This has been a weather problem, not a problem with the number of personnel," said James Thompson, a spokesman for the state's largest utility. "We were hoping to get a break in the weather, but we haven't."

The storm system is expected to pick up speed and move into the Ohio Valley today, with rainfall in most of Arkansas stopping by late afternoon, Lewis said. Flash flooding that affected many southwest Arkansas counties Wednesday is expected to shift to northern counties today, he said.

In Hot Springs, business owners along Central Avenue piled sandbags along storefronts, hoping to hold back the water. Some shops closed because of flooding.

"We were expecting it," said Greg Anderson, owner of Wild Horse Gallery, as he prepared to leave the store before creeks flooded the road to his home. "We got flooded in April, so this time I had wood cut for the door, sandbags and tape."

Anderson was able to keep the water out, but other businesses weren't as lucky.

At the Toy Chest down the street, George Gaglini, an employee with a company that cleans up water after floods, vacuumed water out of the carpet.

"It wasn't as bad as it was last time," Gaglini said, adding that water came in from the rear of the building. "They sandbagged the front. The water came in, and the sandbags kept it in there."

POWER FAILURES

At its peak, about 95,000 Entergy Arkansas customers had lost power, with 28,000 of those in the Little Rock area. Statewide, 86,450 of its customers remained without power as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, with 16,000 of those in Little Rock.

The Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas reported nearly 20,000 of its customers without power, mostly in south Pulaski County and Saline County, said Doug White, vice president of systems services.

"The ground is so soaked, the loblolly pines are being uprooted and falling on our lines," White said.

Also Wednesday, flooding from heavy rain forced two dozen Jacksonville residents from their homes. A local church offered to open its doors to them if water fails to recede, authorities there said.

Two roads servicing nearly 75 lots, many of them used for mobile homes, were underwater. Officials were prepared to shut off the electricity to the homes on Pinion Lane and Leonard Drive if the water began entering them, fire Capt. Steve Moore said.

Don Fandre, who via boat evacuated with his wife, Julia, and their Chihuahua, Sophie, said that when they left, the water "hadn't flooded the trailer."

The family has lived on Leonard Drive nearly 25 years. "We've had some heavy rain before, but never this bad," he said.

Jacksonville crews distributed sandbags to other residents after a creek topped its banks and threatened several homes off West Main Street and Marshall Road.

"One more good gusher, and we're in deep trouble," resident Hannelore Haley said.

Elsewhere in Pulaski County, authorities reported trees down on nearly three dozen roads. In one stretch of Kanis Road between the Little Rock city limits and Ferndale, road crews found eight trees knocked down by wind, said Sherman Smith, the county's public works director.

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department reported high water over a handful of little-traveled state highways.

"We haven't had any serious problems on the major highways," spokesman Glenn Bolick said.

Officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were cautiously optimistic Wednesday that larger-than-normal water releases wouldn't be necessary from four federal dams on the upper White River as long as the revised rainfall forecast held.

"Working with what rain is in the ground, we can hold this in our lakes," said John Kielczewski, White River system engineer for the Corps' Little Rock District.

But officials warned that more rainfall than anticipated could prompt larger releases from Beaver, Table Rock, Bull Shoals or Norfork dams.

"Folks who live in at-risk areas below those dams need to stay in touch with local emergency responders," Corps spokesman P.J. Spaul said.

SCHOOLS AFFECTED

The Little Rock School District closed seven schools Wednesday because of power failures.

Closed were J.A. Fair High School, Chicot Primary School, and Dodd, Fulbright, McDermott, Wakefield and Meadowcliff elementary schools. Jefferson Elementary had a short power failure but stayed open.

Mabelvale Middle School lost power during the day but was able to stay in operation, district spokesman Tiffany Hoffman said.

A decision on whether the affected schools will reopen today will be announced by 5:30 a.m. on Comcast Cable Channel 4 and on the district's Web site at www.lrsd.org, Hoffman said.

In the Pulaski County Special School District, Robinson Elementary, Middle and High schools, as well as Lawson Elementary, were without power Wednesday. Parents were allowed to pick up their children early.

At Robinson Elementary,teachers and pupils resorted to lessons by flashlight, staff member Sue Edwards said.

"They couldn't really do math lessons or anything like that," Edwards said. "But teachers are good about knowing how to modify and adjust."

Power to all four affected county district schools was restored shortly after 2 p.m. The schools are to be open today.

In Conway, a seventh-grade girl walking to Bob Courtway Middle School on Wednesday morning fell into a water-filled ditch between her home and the school.

"The water swept her downstream a little bit," said Conway Public Schools Superintendent Greg Murry. The school's resource officer "ran out to the creek and pulled the girl out, and she is safe and unharmed," but did lose a flute to the raging water, Murry said.

OTHER COUNTIES

In Clark County, County Judge Ron Daniell worried about the continuing rain. By Wednesday afternoon, the Ouachita River was at 19.89 feet - more than 2 feet above flood stage. It could get as high as 25 feet by this morning.

"The river is on a tear down here," Daniell said. "Hopefully, it won't get as high as they say it is going to."

The Ouachita River isn't expected to crest until this afternoon, meaning some roads will likely be closed through the weekend, said Jim Burns, director of the county's emergency management office.

Arkansas 51 east of Arkadelphia could remain underwater until the weekend, he said.

In Calhoun County, most of the county roads and some bridges were flooded out. Water got into a handful of homes around the county, and Hampton schools closed because of poor road conditions.

In neighboring Ouachita County, a man who tried to drive through a foot of water on Arkansas 204 was trapped in his truck when it was swept into a flooded ditch, prompting an emergency rescue.

Bearden City Marshal Mitchell Pate said a team of volunteers tied a rope to the truck, and someone managed to pry open a door and pull the man to higher ground before water reached the top of his pickup cab.

"You've always got people who think 'Oh, I can get through there,'" Pate said. "One foot of water swept him across the road."

Benton firefighters and police urged residents in two trailer parks near the swollen Saline River to pack up and leave Wednesday evening, and the Holland Chapel Baptist Church planned to host up to 100 people overnight.

Some residents in the rainsoaked Hidden Creek mobile home park near the county fairgrounds opted to stay in their homes. Children rode bicycles through the sopping streets and splashed in the puddles.

But authorities wanted them out.

"You don't know how high that water is going to get," Benton Mayor Rick Holland said.

In Pine Bluff, officials closed the Jefferson County Courthouse on Wednesday because there was no power. Beth Dial of the county's Office of Emergency Management said her office and the 911 center were operating on generators.

To the south in Ashley County, more than a dozen roads abutting the Louisiana border were closed, and Bradley County had 17 roads and bridges either closed or partially closed because of flooding, officials said.

Downed power lines and trees were prevalent.

"I don't know how many trees are down - tons of them though - and power lines," said Jenny Smith, the Ashley County solidwaste coordinator. "Every three minutes, we're getting a phone call."

Crossett Mayor Scott McCormick said five houses in the Ashley County town suffered damage from falling trees.

Authorities in Izard County said a possible tornado touched down in a rural area about nine miles southwest of Melbourne on Tuesday night. Sheriff Tate Lawrence said a few residents reported seeing "a huge whirlwind" as the storm struck about 6 p.m.

Lawrence said the storm caused minor damage to at least three buildings.

In Hardy, Mayor Nina Thornton kept a close eye on the Spring River. The scenic river, a popular spot for canoeists, rose only an inch Tuesday night, she said.

However, officials with the National Weather Service advised her that the river could rise rapidly once runoff makes its way into the river basin.

"We're on standby," Thornton said.

"We just repaired our beach and the baseball backstop [from flooding in March]," she said. "We were trying to get things all back to order. Now this happens." Information for this article was contributed by Kenneth Heard, Amy Upshaw, Ginny LaRoe, Debra Hale-Shelton, Julie Stewart, Jacob Quinn Sanders, Nancy Cole, Mike Linn and Cynthia Howell of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.