SYLVAN BEACH -- Neighbors in Sylvan Beach who were forced to leave their homes because of flooding are now being allowed to return.
Mary Pederson and her daughter saw the water rising but it was already too late. An ice jam was causing the creek outside their home to overflow. There was several feet of water on only road out - and rescuers had to come to them
"It all came so fast. There was nothing you could do," said Pederson after she was back in her home on Friday.
All along Waterview Drive in Sylvan Beach, neighbors were assessing the damage the sudden flood had left behind.
"I've got to find stuff that I don't know if it's missing or not from under my house. I know there was some stuff that was being stored under there that I don't know where it went," said Brandon Karpp.
Karpp's home is still surrounded by several inches of ice and his two propane tanks were laying on their side.
"If my gas was on - my house could have caught on fire," said Karpp
Neighbors say it was the worst flood in the past thirty years. Denise Davis had plenty of thanks for the rescuers who waded through several feet of icy water to evacuate people. Davis said she didn't know what her family would have done if rescue crews weren't there to help her wheelchair bound father
"My dad in the wheelchair... it took a lot of people to get him out. They're wonderful people. Big hearts," said Davis.
Electricity has been turned back on but utility crews are still working to restore heat to some homes in Sylvan Beach.
