Boat rescues underway as mandatory evacuations continue

TRINITY COUNTY – Trinity County declared a local state of disaster on Monday following severe damage caused by tornados and storms. By Thursday, mandatory evacuations were ordered for part of the county. According to our news partner KETK, the county suffered severe damage because of tornadoes, continuous rain, flooding on county roads and damage to infrastructure on Sunday. With more rainfall into Thursday morning, mandatory emergency evacuations were ordered for the end of Doug Bell Road. County officials went door-to-door in boats to collect residents and their pets to take them to safety.

Trinity County Judge Danny Martin signed the disaster declaration after determining that measures had to be taken to “alleviate the suffering of people and to protect and rehabilitate property.”

“You are more than willing to stay at home if you want to, but we are not coming back for you after today,” Trinity County Sheriff Woody Wallace said in a video posted to social media.

Power was shut off at Deer Run and Doug Bell roads had power turned off for safety reasons. Wallace said he hopes to restore power to Deer Run later today if the water lowers.

“The power is being cut off at this time for safety reasons so that people don’t get electrocuted wading in water,” Wallace said.

“Just letting y’all know, if you’re staying because you have power, the power’s going off,” Wallace warned.

The local state of disaster is expected to last no more than seven days after Monday unless the Commissioners Court decides to continue it.

Two shelters are currently open for people who are displaced, the VFW and the Burning Hope Church. VFW is not accepting pets. The Burning Hope Church is accepting animals in crates. They will remain open for as long as they need to.