LITITZ, Pa. (WHTM) -
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission on Monday night advised all residents
living downstream of Speedwell Forge Lake Dam in Lancaster County to
leave the area immediately.
Randall Gockley, Lancaster County
Emergency Management Coordinator, said the evacuation was a precautionary
step in case the dam failed.
"We made the decision in conjunction with the Lancaster County Board of
Commissioners that we would sooner evacuate the people now at 6 p.m.
rather than at 2:00 in the morning when everybody may be sleeping,"
Gockley said.
About
80 homes in low-lying areas below the dam and along the Hammer Creek and
Cocalico Creek in portions of Elizabeth, Warwick, Ephrata and West Earl
townships were impacted by the evacuation.
The
dam spillway at Speedwell Forge Lake, a 106-acre state-owned lake in
Elizabeth Township, heaved and cracked last year as the result of
flooding from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee and has not been
repaired due to a lack of funds.
The lake had been drained, but there was concern the water would rise to a level that would put pressure on the dam.
One of the residents who heeded the evacuation order was Brian Brooks of Brownstown.
"We just moved in. You lose it, you lose it. You don't, then you're lucky, I guess," Brooks said. "We're in the flood plain, so it's going to happen eventually."
Brooks was one of several impacted residents who went to a Red Cross shelter at the Manheim Township Middle School.
