I watched a live TV report from Gulf Shores a bit ago. The newsman was at The Hangout. He said that he saw what he thought was a part of a pier float by. I HOPE that he was wrong. It is sure nuff rough there. All ya'll be safe.
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I watched a live TV report from Gulf Shores a bit ago. The newsman was at The Hangout. He said that he saw what he thought was a part of a pier float by. I HOPE that he was wrong. It is sure nuff rough there. All ya'll be safe.
Think it was a piece of lodge beach walkway. Perdido bridge walkway and Ono island piers getting ripped.Quote:
Originally Posted by DKillgore
Ellis posted it on his site was walkway from the lodge by the pier.
Whatching tv the weather channel. The guy is talking about Sally and is standing in front of the pier. Looks like the front be rail might be damaged.
Well here we go, it's midnite on the Gulf Coast and Sally just got her panties into a wad and strengthened back to a 100mph Cat2, and finally formed a rough Eye approx 50 miles across.
Anything along that Eye wall is gonna get the brunt of her b!tchiness.
And it is also now pretty apparent the Gulf Shores/Orange Beach is dead center in her sights, along with Pensacola.
Everybody along the beaches and South of I-10 there better have their insurance paid up!
To all our locals down there, I hope y'all are out of town or in a reinforced building.
I pray for your safety and homes.
And it goes without saying... The Pier is going to a Heavyweight pounding tonight.
I sure hope it's still standing and structurally sound come tomorrow evening.
Half the pier is gone, can't tell if the mid went too
https://i.postimg.cc/0rgnbkhR/FB-IMG-1600256898907.jpg
Just saw Fred Hunter on fox 6 showing a large section of the pier gone. So sad 2020 is pounding this nation
The last film clip I sa showed the Four Seasons pier still ok.
S o So SAD. Our worst nightmare has come true. I only hope and pray that everyone down there is OK and will be thinking about all of ya'll.
I gotta say,...since I fished right under the pier just this past weekend I really got to look at the way it’s constructed. I paid it a lot of attention. I really looked at how it was made and was awed at the incredibly massive structure and how it was put together and anchored. Simply massive. But.....now I’m equally awed, (and saddened) at the power of the sea.
It’s that power,...and it’s relentlessness that made that massive structure fly to pieces like matchsticks. Damn,...just damn.
I found this drone footage of the pier. It was shot this morning. Not sure how to make the video show up here directly.
https://twitter.com/brianemfinger/st...28611645669381
My thoughts and prayers to all in the Gulf Shores vicinity as well those in the path of Sally. Please stay safe.
Can anyone tell me if the Four Seasons condo was damaged and if the pier made it through? Looks like the state park pier is a disasterQuote:
Originally Posted by ironman172
I really don't have the words to express how I feel---sad, angry, bereft----hell, get down the dictionary..
Sad to loose the pier again. How is the power restoration coming.
Thanks
I've been watching the news and checking back in with all my old friends up in coastal Alabama. I have to tell you I am stunned by what I'm seeing! This is like Ivan all over again.
I cant believe the pier came down. Like noted above, the structure was built like no other pier on the Gulf. It must have been a massive wave to take out that section.
So sorry to see this happen.
I sure hope all of y'all are OK up there.
I was in shock to see that happen to the pier.I love to read the post from you guys catching or not.I feel sorry for one friend Coach who retired and was moving down to Gulf Shores to fish daily on that great Pier.
Hope you are ok John Patterson.So to all the People who were looking forward to fish the pier God Bless You all.Praying for another rebuild. Tom
I’ve been through most of the Kubler-Ross stages, denial, bargaining, anger, but I’m not to peace yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Haywire
We got power this afternoon on the southwest side of Foley, but I don't think many have.Quote:
Originally Posted by TalkingRock
Does anyone have a gas can I could buy or borrow
I may still have one where my boat is stored on Canal Rd. You are welcome to it if you can get to it. PM me (and post here that you have done so) and I will tell you where it is. I have moved to Foley but I still have stuff back there.
I may have some 50:1 gas in other tanks if you can use it. I say "may" because I have not gotten back to inspect.
Thanks fredic I bought 4 5gal cans damn they are proud of them.
Tom please give me a call
Carl,
Ivan was bad, but Sally seems worse. I think 30" of rain and so slow moving caused more flooding and damage made things worse.
We just got power this afternoon in North Foley.
Some of yall I’m sure follow Mathew’s channel, so you’re not surprised, but this guy is a class act.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EsACRPvMzA
I’ve had a hard time getting a handle on what it’s like around Gulf Shores in any specific sense because the news just gives an overall portrait. This vid gives a little window to what some (a lot) of folks are going through right now.
We were in the process of buying down there just before this hit,...and now it’s going to be a little while till we even find out if the place is still habitable. We’ll see. Wish I could help out but they’re restricting visitors right now.
We got power to house a couple days ago but still no internet.On Fort Morgan Rd
Give me a call Tom
The pier WILL be repaired...
https://www.outdooralabama.com/artic...s-sallys-surge
https://www.outdooralabama.com/sites...0Damage-31.jpg
A section of the newly renovated Gulf State Park Pier is gone after a battering by Hurricane Sally. Photo by Billy PopeSeptember 24, 2020
By DAVID RAINER, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
One aspect of living on Alabama’s beautiful Gulf Coast is the realization that the best-laid plan is no match for Mother Nature.
The original plan was to gather on September 16 at the Gulf State Park Pier to celebrate the grand reopening of the 1,542-foot pier after a $2.4 million renovation.
Although I’m a veteran of many tropical storms and hurricanes in my 28 years on the Gulf Coast, including back-to-back hits by Ivan and Katrina, the system that turned into Hurricane Sally threw me and many Gulf Coast residents a wicked curveball.
Off to bed with a predicted peak of 85 mph winds, I was awakened by an ominous roar. With one peek through the high windows on our vibrating front door, it was obvious this was not a clone of Hurricane Danny from 1997 that dumped copious amounts of rain on the area but did not have the wind-damage potential of Sally.
As Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft said, “Sally sucker-punched us.”
Sally made landfall in Gulf Shores in the early hours of September 16 as a strong Category 2 hurricane with winds clocked at 105 mph. A wind-speed detector on a nearby tower clocked a 121-mph gust.
However, Sally’s brutality was magnified by her crawling forward speed of 2 mph, which made the incessant winds seem to last forever. Like my friend Dwight Lores said, “A human can easily walk at 3 miles per hour. That’s why Sally did so much damage.”
When the first hint of sunrise allowed a minimal assessment through the aforementioned door, trees were down in every direction. Unlike many Baldwin County homes, thankfully ours was not damaged by any of the falling trees, but it was almost three days before we could even leave our driveway. On the fourth day, a utility crew from Warren County, Kentucky, restored our power, a remarkable feat considering the extent of the damage. All hail to a hot shower.
Of course, I prayed for the best for everybody on the Alabama coast, but I feared it was not going to be the outcome we wished, especially for those structures vulnerable to storm surge.
I soon got word through the little cell service available that the northern Gulf Coast’s premier fishing and educational pier, which opened in 2009 after Ivan razed the previous pier, had succumbed to the constant battering of Sally’s surge.
The section of pier closest to the end octagon was gone. The majority of the blowout deck panels were scattered all along the sugar-sand shoreline.
The good news is the new Lodge at Gulf State Park and nearby structures were relatively unscathed because those buildings were designed to withstand winds of up to 150 mph.
Chris Blankenship, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR), and Greg Lein, Alabama State Parks Director, were able to perform cursory assessments late last week.
“We had damage in places we didn’t expect, and in other places where I expected to have a lot of damage, it turned out to be not as bad,” said Commissioner Blankenship, who toured the area with Governor Kay Ivey last Friday. “The damage to the pier is the most obvious that everybody has seen on TV and had the most questions about. We were very surprised by the amount of damage to the pier. The cabins at Gulf State Park on Lake Shelby took a beating. I’m afraid a lot of them will be total losses.
“But I was pleasantly surprised by how the dune system held up on the beach. And the Lodge at Gulf State Park, which was built to fortified building standards, fared very well during the storm. The FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Administration) administrator was there, and we showed him the Lodge. He was very impressed with the resilience of the Lodge and how building to that standard has a big impact on the recovery.”
Commissioner Blankenship said divers are scheduled to assess the damage to the pier and determine the structural integrity of the remaining pilings.
“After that is finished, we will be able to make plans to get the pier reopened at least to the part where it broke off while we repair the entire structure back out to the octagon,” he said.
Director Lein said the campground at Gulf State Park suffered quite a bit of damage.
“It wasn’t until Friday that staff was able to access all of the park and assess the damage because of the water and downed trees,” Lein said. “A lot of the electrical distribution panels in the campground were impacted. That system will have to be assessed by an electrician to see what repairs are needed. Now that the conditions have improved, we’ve been able to clear all the campsite pads.
“All the modern buildings at the park appear to be okay. A couple of campers that were left on the site were tipped over by the wind. A few of the campers in the storage area were pushed together, but only one was overturned.”
The cabins and cottages on Lake Shelby highlighted how construction standards can make a big difference in potential damage.
“The cabins suffered major damage,” Lein said. “They lost portions of their roofs. Some of the walls collapsed. It appeared the wind got under the roofs in the porch areas and ripped them off.
“On the cottages, the roofs are intact. The older cabins had significant damage, but the modern cottages were not as affected.”
Lein said the good news about the pier is that the staff has been able to recover more than 200 of the deck panels that are designed to blow out to protect the infrastructure.
“They found some about 4 miles down the beach,” Lein said. “A couple were found in swimming pools down there. It’s amazing our crew has been able to recover so many panels. The pier will be inspected. If it’s structurally okay, we’ll be able to put a lot of those panels back, and we may be able to reopen a portion of the pier. The pier house appeared to not have any damage.”
Lein said strike teams were formed several years ago in each district of the State Parks system to assist in natural disasters. The teams are comprised of employees capable of running chainsaws, skid steers, backhoes and tractors.
“We had more than a dozen strike team members down there to join the men and women from Gulf State Park, working together as one team to clear roads and paths so support personnel had access to all of the park,” Lein said. “They achieved a huge amount of relief to the park in three days.
“They brought generators with them to power part of the Lodge and the park office. I can’t say enough about the strike teams and how successful their deployment was in supporting the Gulf State Park staff. The crews were all fed by the chef and staff at the Lodge’s Food Craft restaurant, and that was such a morale booster for the teams to get a warm meal.”
Commissioner Blankenship said he has been impressed by the spirit of cooperation and willingness of folks who don’t live on the Gulf Coast to lend a helping hand.
“I appreciate our strike teams that came down to assist at Gulf State Park,” he said. “They have done a great job of cleaning up the park. It will help us get the park reopened a lot quicker, and it allows for some of our employees who rode out the storm to take care of their families and limit the damage done to their homes.
“That’s extremely important. Every single employee was without power for a certain amount of time and had damage at their residences they needed to attend to. Having people come in from areas that weren’t impacted helped those affected people. It is very important to me to have our employees taken care of.”
Meanwhile, Commissioner Blankenship said the Alabama Marine Resources Division (MRD) facilities in Dauphin Island sustained significant damage. The MRD office building suffered roof damage, and the docks at the office were destroyed.
“But Meaher State Park on the Causeway and 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center seemed to do okay,” he said. “There were trees down but not a lot of other damage.”
Just GREAT news!!!!
Good news indeed! For those unaware the Surfside Pier(south Myrtle Beach) was destroyed by a hurricane a few years ago leaving only the near-shore pylons-it remains just as the storm left it. It must be said that it was privately owned and with the Garden City Pier some three miles away(as well as others nearby) it likely will never be restored. Like Gulf Shores it stood for decades as one of primary fishing spots for the Grand Strand.
That said, we should consider ourselves fortunate that GSP will be restored to full functionality, and the possibility of fishing the shallows a bonus for the interim. In the meantime I'll simply delay my plans to purchase gear to land my first king mackerel and spend my time on the shore with a couple lines in the water watching the sun rise or set. Peace.
Time to break out the beach carts and sand spikes. Never surf fished much, but it is time to learn.
October 1 Press Release:
BEACHES
The City of Gulf Shores, City of Orange Beach, Baldwin County, Gulf State Park, and Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism have been working closely with Governor Kay Ivey and the State of Alabama to determine when beaches can safely reopen. While our area has seen vast improvement over the last two weeks, there is still a lot of work to be done. The City of Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Fort Morgan will reopen beaches at 6 a.m. on Oct. 2.
However,most public beach access points will remain CLOSED until further notice due to safety concerns. These include:
Gulf Shores
- Gulf Place
- West Gulf Place
- West 5th Street
- West 6th Street
- West 10th Street
- West 12th Street
- West 13th Street
- Little Lagoon Pass Park
Gulf State Park
- Gulf State Park Pier
- Gulf State Park Pavilion
- Beach access at Perdido Beach Blvd. and State Park Road 2
Orange Beach
- Romar Beach
- Cotton Bayou
- Alabama Point (including under Perdido Pass Bridge) and Alabama Point East
These extended closures of public access areas are strictly due to safety concerns. Repairs to boardwalks and other damaged areas will take place as quickly as possible. Reopening of access points and parking lots should begin in mid-October as soon as they are fully repaired and deemed safe.
CITY OF GULF SHORES RESIDENT BEACH ACCESS
- East Gulf Place will reopen for City of Gulf Shores Resident Only Parking on Friday, October 2. Hurricane Re-Entry/Beach Parking Passes will be required for parking.
VISITORS
- Private accommodations that can reopen will have open access to the beach beginning October 2. Visitors should contact their lodging accommodation provider for specific information related to their stay.
CURFEW
- The City of Gulf Shores curfew will expire on Friday, October 2, at 6 a.m. At that time, checkpoints located at West 12th Avenue (Domino’s) and on East Beach Boulevard will also be taken down.
CITY FACILITIES AND PARKS
- The following City facilities and parks are now open:City Hall and Executive Offices, Library, Gulf Shores Museum, Gulf Shores City Store, Outdoor Basketball Courts, Skate Park, Dog Park, Mo’s Landing Park (boat launch remains CLOSED), Canal Park Boat Launch
- The Bodenhamer Recreation Center will open at 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 1. Regular hours will resume at that time.
- The Cultural Center gymnasium received significant damage and will remain closed until further notice.
- The Gulf Shores Sportsplex track and football stadium are open.
- Wade Ward Nature Park will remain closed until further notice due to storm damage.
RELIEF DISTRIBUTION LOCATIONS & DONATIONS
- All drive-through distribution locations are now closed. Gulf Shores United Methodist Church is operating a Volunteer Reception Center for those interested in volunteering with disaster relief. Please contact Gulf Shores United Methodist Church at 251-597-2983 for more information.
DEBRIS PICKUP
- Gulf Shores City Crews and Contractors are working 12-hour shifts, seven days a week to clean up storm debris throughout the City of Gulf Shores. The cleanup process will take several weeks. Residents are asked to continue to have patience as crews are working as fast as they can. Please contact Public Works at 251-968-1156 for any questions related to storm debris pickup.