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WILMORE -- Thousands of residents were evacuated from their homes Wednesday as a precaution due to critical overspilling from the Wilmore Dam.
Cambria County Emergency Management Director Art Martynuska said the evacuation was required as part of the county's emergency action plan, stating the dam's spillways were operating over capacity from Wednesday morning's heavy rains.
More than 3,000 people from the communities of Wilmore, South Fork and Summerhill were evacuated, and shelters were set up with the assistance of the Red Cross at the East Taylor Fire Department, Forest Hills High School and Summerhill Fire Department.
"The incident is stable now, and the water has receded down to an acceptable level," Martynuska said. "We are still monitoring the situation and keeping an eye on the dam, but there is no immediate danger to the public."
Residents were cleared to return to their homes at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Martynuska said the emergency action plan went into effect after management from the Cambria Somerset Authority, which manages the dam, notified EMA of the high water levels.
In the emergency action plan, guidelines were established for mass evacuation in the area once water overwhelmed the spillway.
"Our emergency action plan worked exactly the way it was supposed to," Martynuska said. "Everything went smoothly. Everyone worked diligently to help evacuate those in the vicinity, and there were no injuries."
Reports had surfaced about 2 p.m. that the dam had broken, but the Stonycreek Township Police Department reported the dam operated as intended and did not break.
If the dam had failed, Martynuska said residents across Cambria County would have been notified through the county's CodeRed alert system.
Automated messages were sent out across the county earlier in the day to notify the public of flash flood warnings.
First responders throughout Cambria County were dispatched shortly before noon for reports of the Wilmore Dam reaching a critical stage of overcapacity.
Officials said water rose nearly 2 feet from the top of the dam, reaching a critical stage as the spillway attempted to release water downstream.
Locations from the Wilmore Dam to routes 219 and 53 were evacuated as a precaution in the event that the dam were to fail.
First responders from the Beaverdale, Portage, South Fork, St. Michael and Summerhill fire departments aided in efforts to evacuate residents from the flood plain.
The Cambria County Water Rescue team was also placed on standby, according to Cambria 911.
According to The Associated Press, the Wilmore Dam was rated poor in a September 2020 inspection with the condition detail "deficiency recognized."
The dam, which was built in 1908, spans 195 acres and was considered along with Hinckson Dam in Johnstown as high-
hazard dams that are likely to kill someone if they fail, AP reported.
The Cambria Somerset Authority could not be reached for comment.
Martynuska said the communities surrounding the dam are still facing flooding resulting from the large amount of water discharged from the spillway.
"We are still dealing with some aftermath that will be addressed Wednesday night and into Thursday," he said.
Other evacuations took place in the remaining parts of Cambria County as a result of the ongoing storm.
Select homes in Patton Borough were evacuated Wednesday morning due to escalating water levels at Chest Creek and Little Chest Creek.
An alert from Patton Borough stated that the Queen of Peace Roman Church was utilized as a shelter for evacuated residents.
Cambria 911 issued an all-call for fire departments from across the county to man their stations in anticipation of the inclement weather, and departments throughout the region responded to numerous flooding and storm-related incidents.
Officials from the Cambria County 911 center said additional staffing was brought in Wednesday morning in anticipation of the storm for enhanced call taking and the dispatching of units.
Officials said several roads were closed due to flooding, including sections of Route 53 near Amsbry Road in Gallitzin and Route 22 in Cambria Township.
Due to the situation at the Wilmore Dam, CamTram canceled the remainder of its routes after 6:10 p.m. Wednesday.
According to a post on CamTram's Facebook page, all rural fixed routes were canceled in addition to Reserve-a-Ride and ADA Complementary Paratransit, except for kidney dialysis and cancer treatment.
Mirror Staff Writer Calem Illig is at 814-946-7535.