Some people at Mountain Island Lake stay on edge about any chance of heavy rainfall.
“Here we go again,” Walter Bray III of Bray Builders says.
Crews like his, working near Riverside Drive, are still repairing the damage left by flooding in the summer.
“There’s a lot of people who lost their homes down here,” he says.
What was record rainfall caused high waters in June. Volunteer firefighters at Cooks Fire Department were among those who made dozens of water rescues.
Now they are preparing for whatever they face with this oncoming weather.
“Just have our equipment ready on standby,” firefighter Antonio Miller says. “Boats, trucks, whatever else equipment we’re going to use.”
The station is fighting to stick around in this neighborhood, facing potential budget cuts that would dissolve the department. They say their work is crucial for neighbors, during times like this.
“Give them a sense of security to know we’re right here and we can help out,” Miller says.