Lee's leftovers bring rain to Lynchburg area

The remnants of Tropical Storm Lee brought an end to any thoughts of drought in the area as portions of Central Virginia received enough rain the past two days to bring rainfall totals to near normal for this time of year.

Lynchburg was not quite in drought conditions before a steady rain began falling on Monday.

Though the reporting station at the Lynchburg Regional Airport only indicated 1.44 inches of rain since the storms began, meteorologist Marc Chenard with the National Weather Service said measurements in other parts of the city registered as much as about 4 inches. Areas in Bedford and Amherst counties saw as much as 6 inches of rain by Tuesday afternoon.

Most of the rain was expected to leave the area by today, Chenard said.

The downpours did cause some road closures, including three secondary roads in Bedford County, which were closed overnight, said Todd Daniel, residency administrator for VDOT's office in Bedford. All three are on the Big Otter River, he said.

Bells Mill Road, off U.S. 460 between Bedford and New London, was closed at a section where Elk Creek joins the river, a typical location for it to flood, he said Tuesday. Crews were preparing to remove debris and place and stone and gravel on the road, he said, but there was not major roadway damage.

The other two roads closed were Woods Road and Lankford Mill Road, both north of Bedford, he said.

“We had some downed trees here and there,” Daniel said. “But everything is passable.”

Paula Jones, spokeswoman for VDOT’s Lynchburg District, said conditions were not as bad as she would have expected on roads in Amherst, Campbell and Appomattox counties.

Nelson County Emergency Services Coordinator Ray Uttaro said some areas flooded Monday night, but most of it had receded Tuesday. Some roads were blocked by downed trees, but no significant traffic backups occurred, and Uttaro called the flooding “nothing major.”

Schools and government offices proceeded with the day as normal.

Water and fire damage companies reported getting more calls as the rain continued.

John Tillman, project manager for Kidd’s Cleaning and Restoration Services, said flooding is a huge concern, particularly for residents with little or no insurance coverage.

Many homeowners do not have flood insurance, and rainwater that comes in usually is classified as flood loss, Tillman said.

Most of the company’s jobs include extracting the water, removing any wet drywall and treating for mold and mildew. Dehumidifiers and fans dry the place out, a process that can take a couple of days.

Most of the work is priced by the square feet of the job, Tillman said.

“It adds up pretty quick depending on the size of the job,” he said.

Staff writers Justin Faulconer and Craig Davison contributed.