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By Erin Smith
With the devastation that has been the hallmark of Hurricane Florence, Brunswick Lowe Boats wanted to do their part to help those in the flooded areas. The company announced they were donating five boats to North Carolina. The boats were shipped to NC Marine of Durham, who then delivered them to four locations. Doug Cloud, a friend of the owner, delivered one of those boats to the White Lake Fire Department on Saturday evening.
In addition to the boat delivered to White Lake, two boats were delivered to Newport, one was donated to the Baptist Men, and the final boat went to Laurinburg, said Cloud.
“Townsend Link, who works with White Lake Marine, I called him and asked him about a fire department that needed a boat,” said Cloud.
The mood at the White Lake Fire Department was somber as the strike teams, members of the Kelly Fire Department, White Lake Fire Department, and NC Wildlife Resources officers all gathered for the announcement and evening meal. Following the announcement, everyone went outside to see the new boat. In addition to the boat, NC Marine also delivered several cases of bottled water to the fire station.
White Lake Fire Chief, Dale Brennan, called the donation a “morale booster.” He noted everyone has been working long hours since the storm to help the citizens of Bladen County and the Kelly and Rowan communities.
“We still know there are people down there, and we’re going to get them,” said Brennan.
The new boat was put to the test on Sunday morning in the Kelly and Rowan areas.
Brandon Norris, with the Kelly Fire Department, said the Cape Fear River crested on Saturday, but flood water is still flowing into the Kelly area due to the damaged White Oak Dike.
On Saturday evening, Norris said the flood waters had reached the sides of the Kelly Fire Department building, and he anticipated it would enter the building overnight. It had already entered the EMS building. He estimated the water had risen 2 to 3 feet in the past 24-hours.
Norris estimated 80 people remained in the flooded Kelly and Rowan communities as of Saturday evening.
“We went in this morning (Saturday) and made contact with several people we knew were left and convinced 10 to 15 more people to come out today,” said Norris.
Several washouts were found by rescuers on Saturday.
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