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Wlaf1450LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF)- Crews with the Campbell County Highway Department cleared mud, rock, trees and brush and replaced washed out culverts to make their way through the aftermath of Sunday’s flash flood that some locals say dumped a half foot of rain in about an hour. The hardest hit areas included about a three to four mile radius of Stinking Creek Road.
TOP PHOTO: This private bridge to a home on Big Four Road was totally washed away. Neighbors were able to get the frame back in place though some of the cross ties were washed away. See the photo gallery from WLAF’s Charlie Hutson HERE.
Big Four, Rock Creek, Hickory Creek Roads, to name a few, all suffered damage from the flooding as did some of the La Follette Utility Board waterline. “Things are looking better. We’re getting a little headway. We have things going our way now. However, we still have a lot of work ahead of us,” said Ron Dilbeck, Campbell County Road Superintendent.
Dilbeck mentioned that this flash flooding event reminded him of the 2019 flood at Long Hollow. “They received a very large amount of rain in a short period of time like here,” said Dilbeck. He added that he and his crews will continue to work to get the roads back in good and safe condition.
A crew of seven members of the highway department responded immediately on Sunday afternoon with around 16 working on Monday starting at first light. The area was assessed Sunday night by officials with LUB, and an eight man LUB crew also went right to work.
Cobie Herrin, Superintendent of Water and Wastewater Operations for LUB, called the scene a one of the worst washouts he has seen especially on Hickory Creek Road. About a hundred feet of water line, three feet underground, was exposed along Big Four Road where it meets Stinking Creek Road. Herrin and crews filled the area back in with crusher run followed by shot rock on top.
Campbell County EMA Director Jay Muncy plans to return the scene Tuesday with an official from the National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). “We’ve done a lot of projects with the folks from NRCS. I’d say we will be constructing flat stone walls in some of these areas where creeks were way out of their banks,” said Dilbeck.
By the end of the day Monday, most roads were passable. “If anyone needs anything in these damaged areas, please call us. There could be something we’ve missed or haven’t seen or things that maybe cropped up well after the flood,” said Dilbeck. The telephone number at the Campbell County Highway Department is 423.562.3404.
(WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-08/11/2026-6AM-PHOTOS COURTESY OF WLAF’S CHARLIE HUTSON)