HESPERIA, Mich. — Areas along the White River south of the Hesperia Dam are under a Flash Flood Watch, prompting emergency preparations across the Village of Hesperia.
On Wednesday, high water levels were flowing over the dam's spillway, and there were concerns water could go over the dam itself. At last check, the Flash Flood Watch will remain in effect until Thursday morning.
WATCH: Wednesday's flooding preparations in the Village of Hesperia
Residents living south of the dam are being advised to plan now, so they know what to do in case of an emergency.
Multiple agencies and neighbors are working together to prevent flooding. Emergency crews proactively removed boards, known as stop logs, from the dam to open the spillways and lower the river's water level above the dam. Officials will monitor the water levels Wednesday night as more rain is expected.
"If we wouldn't have done something with pulling boards out, like we are right now, then we could have breached the dam," Village President Mike Farber said.
Farber noted the heavy presence of local agencies working to secure the area.
"I've got Oceana Emergency Response, Newaygo Emergency Response, Oceana County Sheriff, Newaygo County Sheriff. I've got my [Department of Public Works]," Farber said.
Neighbors are also stepping up to help, including 15-year-old baseball player Landyn Thompson, who helped set up sandbags.
"We were in the middle of practice, and we got the call that the village needed help, so we came down here helped set up some sandbags and stuff like that," Thompson said.
The threat of flooding has created a scary situation for residents. Neighbor Sam Gillett packed up his dog, Jake, as a precaution.
"It's bad, because I've seen the river high before, but not like this," Gillett said.
"If this thing breaks, then I'm 10 feet underwater where I live, and I just live down the dam a little bit," Gillett added.
The high water is also impacting local businesses, including the river-focused Hesperia Sports Shop.
"The steelhead fishing has come to a halt now, so no one's out fishing," owner Meagan Guptill said.
"We were going to hear it and see what the river is going to do as far as fishing conditions go. But hopefully in the next week, the river will come down quite a bit," Guptill added.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Follow FOX 17: Facebook - X (formerly Twitter) - Instagram - YouTube
