Existing comment:
The Storm:
"It commenced to rain here on Thursday night at 9 o'clock, May 30, 1889. It rained very hard up till Friday noon, May 31st. All the streams that empty into the reservoir were overflowed; large trees and logs of all kinds went into the reservoir; it took logs away from my place that had been here for forty years."
-- John Lovette, a sawmill operator owner along the South Fork Creek
The region had been greatly saturated from the heavy and consistent rains. Runoff from the storms was immediate.
During May of 1889, heavy storms were frequent and local rains and drizzles were common. Records at the time indicated this as the wettest May and the highest level of rainfall ever recorded between May 30 to June 1. |