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Floods in Scott County beat records, washing away a portion of the Burnt Mill Bridge

Local historians say the bridge survived many weather events, including the flood of '29 and one in the 1970’s.

Flooding in Scott County had a significant impact on the rivers at Big South Fork Recreational Park over the weekend. 

“So from March 25th through the 28th, we received a hefty amount of rain at one of our four river gauges,” said Christopher Derman, the park’s Chief of Interpretation and Education. 

Derman said it is not uncommon for the bank of the rivers to overflow, but this time around, the rain was more than usual. 

“It measured roughly 9.1 inches over that span of March 25th through the 28th,” said Derman. 

Derman said similar flooding happened in February 2020, leaving the river at a stage height of 39 feet. This is the highest the river has been since 1929. 

“And that was a record. But on this event, on the 28th, that record was beaten by roughly over 42 feet. So we beat the previous record by approximately three feet,” said Derman. 

Beating last year's record also damaged a piece of history by washing away a portion of the Burnt Mill Bridge.

Local historians said the bridge survived many weather events including the flood of '29 and one in the 1970’s. 

For locals and visitors it is considered a historic landmark. 

“The fact that the bridge is no more is painful to a lot of people because they have such strong memories tied to those structures,” said Derman. 

The park remains open, but for the safety of patrons, water activities in certain areas of the park are on pause. 

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