Rising river strands campers in Cheat Canyon

MASONTOWN — Firefighters from around the county spent a soggy Sunday morning rescuing more than a dozen people in the Bull Run area near Masontown after rising water surrounded their campsite.

Masontown Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Bill Cress said 19 people from Maryland and Pennsylvania had set up camp in the area where Big Sandy Creek meets the Cheat River, not far from the bridge at Bull Run. While the site normally can be reached with minimal wading, Cress said the weekend’s heavy rainfall caused the water to rise 3 feet and the current to become dangerously swift.

One camper “couldn’t swim at all, and two others were weak swimmers,” Cress said.

Shortly before 10 a.m. Sunday, volunteer fire departments from Masontown, Reedsville, Bruceton-Brandonville and a KAMP ambulance from Kingwood were dispatched to handle the swift-water rescue. In all, Cress said, 19 volunteers responded to the 19 campers in distress.

With cellular service in the low-lying area spotty at best, Cress said one camper swam across to travel to an area where he could get a signal and call for help. “Then he swam back. He’s been training for the ‘Ironman’ triathlon, he said.

Masontown’s Water Rescue Team spearheaded the effort, which required meeting at a staging area near the bridge, and then hiking down a few hundred yards of steep, muddy and slippery paths through rhododendron bushes until they reached the river’s edge.

“We have a rope gun that they shot across the river, which gave us a tether line,” Cress said. “Then we sent across the boat” with one rescuer to bring back the campers one at a time.

The firefighters finished transporting the campers shortly before 1:30 p.m. Of the 19 people at the site, 13 needed to be rescued, and no injuries were reported, Cress said.

After everybody and their camping and rescue equipment had been brought up the steep slope, Cress reminded the outdoor enthusiasts to be mindful of how fast the weather conditions can change in Preston County and urged them to select future campsites with that in mind.

While the rescued people were grateful for the firefighters’ efforts, they were reluctant to share the circumstances which led to their extrication.

“It’s our first time here,” said one woman who refused to give her name. “Some have been here before, but we didn’t really know what this was.”

Cress said the group — men and women in their 20s and 30s — was not part of the Deep Roots Music Festival, which was taking place nearby.

“They had been planning this trip since January, and they’re planning to come back next year,” Cress said, adding that the timing with the weekend concert was a coincidence.

This is the fourth time this year that Masontown’s water team has been put into action, prompting more firefighters to obtain water rescue certification, Cress said. “These guys, the water team, they did great,” he said.

Cress also expressed appreciation for the other departments that came to the rescue. “We worked together well. I really want to thank those guys.”