a day ago
Crews form human chain to rescue people caught in storm at Ohiopyle State Park
Visitors to Ohiopyle State Park had to scramble and take cover as powerful thunderstorms rolled through on Sunday afternoon.
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources reported that at one point in the middle of the storm, crews had to rescue people by forming a human chain to pull them to safety. The storm had driving rain, lightning and thunder, downbursts, and 60-mile-per-hour straight-line winds.
Chris Houck, the park operations manager at Ohiopyle, says that park rangers and first responders worked quickly, even during the storm, to get people out of harm's way.
"The initial response was visitor safety," Houck said. "Evacuating people from some of the busier, rougher trained areas like Cucumber Falls and the Natural Water Slides, and extracting people from vehicles with downed trees, we had at least one entrapment."
Clean up has been underway since the storm passed, with crews moving massive amounts of debris and cutting huge trees that came down in some of the park's most popular recreation areas.
As much damage as the park received, however, Houck says it could have been worse, and they are lucky no one was hurt.
"We have had no reports of major injuries related to the storm. I don't know how," said Houck. "If you go look at the woods out there, trees everywhere, and on a Sunday here at Ohiopyle, it's regular for us to see hundreds, if not thousands, of people here."
Cleanup is still underway at Ohiopyle State Park, and the park is open. Just be aware that if you are coming out and hitting the trails, some are still closed until they can be properly assessed and cleared.
