The campground at Devil’s Den Sate Park was wetter, cooler and emptier than Monday before the storm hit. While the rain may have been needed, many campers did not want it.
“The campers had mixed emotions to it," said Monte Fuller, Devil’s Den State Park Superintendent. "Some of them did stay overnight and toughed it out and some of them packed up and left.”
Almost three inches of rain soaked Devil’s Den overnight. But with more on the way, some say the downpour was just too much to handle. Jackie Newkirk and her family camped out last night, in a tent.
"It caved in a little bit so we all had to rush out, pull the water off the tent and we had to tie ropes everywhere and we had to get the water off and it pretty much almost collapsed," said Newkirk. "But my mom woke up in time so we got out.”
Many campers planned to ride out the rain but several changed their minds.
”Even though we still got it to stop flooding and caving it still kind of dripped in and it was really cold and wet," said Newkirk. "We are tired so yes, we want to go home.”
While the rain was a hassle for some campers, the area needed it.
“As you know from yesterday, the creek was below normal level and now it’s up to about a normal level for this time of year so that really helped us," said Fuller. "The rain we get today is what’s going to determine if we have any flooding issues.”
Despite the soggy forecast, park officials expect some to stick it out and camp all week. Officials have a flooding warning system in place and say they are prepared to keep their visitors safe.