Frank and Janice Wimpee have lived in their home on stilts along the banks of the North Fork of Black Creek in Middleburg for 25 years. So far Tropical Storm Fay hasn’t come close to being the biggest menace they’ve ever faced.
Fay backs up Black Creek into Middleburg backyards.
“That’s where the water got to in 1992,” Frank said, pointing to a mark about eight feet high on one of the pilings that hold his home well above the river-creek that flows past his backyard.
On Friday, well before most of Fay’s rains had a chance to filter into the area’s main waterways, Black Creek had already created a large pond in his backyard and flooded the street in front of his home.
“This is just from the wind blowing up the creek and backing up the water,” Frank said. “The flood from the rain probably won’t hit for another day.”
Sometime prior to that, he said, he and his wife will hook their canoe to their SUV, drive the vehicle to higher ground, and paddle back up their driveway to their home. It’s a routine borne from a tough lesson.
“I lost a car back in the ‘92 flood,” he said.
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