With people inside, Denise O’Brennan says she had to think quickly to save the pit beef stand adjacent to the bar where she works.
“The creek has risen [before], we’ve had problems with the creek, but this – it kind of scared me,” O’Brennan said.
Rising flash flood waters ruined the basement of the bar on Baker Avenue and the properties behind it.
Dirt marks were left from when the water was at its peak, tracing how high the water rose.
“Five minutes later, I looked out it was all covered. It was like a lake,” O’Brennan said.
But it wasn’t just near the restaurant.
About five minutes away on Transverse Avenue – there were waist-level pools of water. Cellphone video captured just how high it was.
“It was horrific. Like this whole street you could not get down the street and I feel really bad for the people living in the direct, low-lying area because they’re getting so much flooding,” Kelly, a resident on the block, said.
Clean up on the block and at the Baker’s Tavern has been slow and steady – but Denise is in good spirits and says the pit beef stand, along with everything else, will bounce back.
“I could have swam. It was scary. I tried getting cinder blocks to block it off to save the pit – which I didn’t get any credit for,’ O’Brennan laughingly said.