Posted By Jim on January 17, 2010

Two inches of rain caused the ice on the New River to break up and dam on Sunday morning. Within a few hours the ice dam broke and left behind tall stacks of ice along the banks.

The ice which has covered miles of the New River for the last 10 days broke free Sunday morning after two inches of rain overnight, causing some flooding along Railroad Grade Road. The ice was caught at the first low-water bridge below Todd until about 9:30 when the dam gave way. Water and millions of tons of ice heaved downstream, pushing the river out of its banks and slamming chunks of ice into everything in its path. The ice hit utility poles with such force that the electrical service was yanked from the roof of a house on the banks of the river. The ice then dammed at Castleford Road, causing the waters to rise more than 10 feet within a matter of minutes. The 10-acre Todd Island Park was submerged under several feet of muddy water as the ice and water piled up behind the bridge. Trees were pulled from the ground and wildlife scurried for higher ground. Owners of one home along the river scrambled to pull valuables from the lower floor of their home as the water rose higher.

But, almost as quickly as the water rose, the dam gave way from the weight of the ice and water around 11 a.m., and the river of ice and water rushed downstream, pulling trees, stumps and brush with it. The ice appeared to flow freely for several miles downstream and there were no reports of additional damming downstream. Huge sheets of ice were deposited along the banks of the river, some stacked more than 5 feet high.

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