Elliott's Campground, Pack's Landing partially flood as water levels rise on Lake Marion after Helene

CLARENDON COUNTY - Clarendon County was spared the brunt of Hurricane Helene's wrath.

Five days after Hurricane Helene skirted the state, the effects of Helene are rapidly flowing down from the mountains, through the Upstate and into the rivers and streams that empty in Lake Marion and the waterways to the east.

Pack's Landing, 9890 Packs Landing Road, and Elliott's Campground and Landing, 2010 Elliott's Landing Road, both in the Pinewood area, began seeing the waters of Lake Marion rise to levels many have never seen in their lifetime.

"It's pretty bad, really bad," Pack said Thursday afternoon. "It's the highest I've ever seen."

Pack said the landing's parking lot was underwater on Wednesday, Oct. 2, but it was getting more accessible as of Thursday.

"The high water did a lot of damage," he added. "We have to replace a lot of duct work and insulation. A dock was damaged. I have to wait until the water goes down more to really see the damage."

Pack estimated the high waters of Lake Marion didn't reach the store, but the water surrounded it.

While the store will be open, other areas around the landing will take longer to get repaired.

While the business would be great, now isn't the time to be out on Lake Marion, he stressed.

"The water is muddy," Pack said. "Debris is floating everywhere. It's dangerous, and the current is deadly. The water is running too hard right now for it to be safe on the lake. It's really, really dangerous."

"We have dangerous conditions, but it's nothing compared to the North Carolina and Tennessee mountains and the areas around Augusta," he added. "Those folks are having it hard, and it's not ending anytime soon."

"We need a few days to regroup," said Alice Weathersby, owner of Elliott's Landing. "It's better today (Oct. 3), but it was pretty hairy yesterday."

Weathersby said the waters of Lake Marion were level with the landing's pier.

"The current is still strong flowing under the docks, but in a few more days, it'll get better," she added.

Weathersby and her husband headed to Charleston on Oct. 3 to purchase a new dock because the old dock was damaged too extensively. The lake's waters also seeped into at least one cabin that will need new drywall and repairs.

Like Pack, Weathersby said they should be up and running at some capacity by the first of next week.

The South Carolina High School Bass Challenge that was scheduled to launch out of John C. Land III Landing on Oct. 15 has been postponed until Nov. 2.

"In an abundance of caution, we decided to reschedule the tournament," said Jennie Lee, executive director of the Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce.

With power outages, downed trees, flooded roads and debris piling up beside the roadways throughout a major portion of the state, South Carolina Highway Patrol is asking motorists to stay alert in areas where linemen are working, SCDOT employees are clearing roads of trees and debris and in flooded or flood-prone areas.

"As we continue with cleanup efforts following Hurricane Helene, we're asking the public to stay alert when in areas that have been impacted by the storm," said SCHP Cpl. David G. Jones. "Don't get distracted. Give everyone who is working hard to repair lines, clean up debris, caution against flooded areas a safe environment."

Tracy Vreeland, a public relations specialist with Santee Cooper, said the lake system is operating as it was designed to protect the safety of the public and that its dams and dikes are secure after the hurricane passed through the area.

"We began drawing down the lake by releasing water through the Spillway last week, to make room for incoming water from Hurricane Helene. We are currently seeing Hurricane Helene's floodwaters flowing into Lake Marion at about 1.7 million gallons per second (about 225,000 cfs). Even with an ongoing release of water through the Spillway, water levels at Lake Marion have quickly rebounded with those elevated inflows. We will continue to spill at a rate that balances lake levels with incoming water until the inflows return to a more normal rate. The spilling does not affect Lake Marion's shoreline, because the water is spilled into the Santee River. We do expect some flooding in the Santee River floodplain in Georgetown County over the next few days," according to an email from Vreeland.