ELEANOR, W.Va. — Timing for organizers of the Putnam County Fair couldn’t have been much worse. A massive rain storm Monday night flooded most of the fairgrounds in Eleanor. The high water forced an evacuation of livestock from the grounds and washed out all activities on Tuesday.
“We moved all of the animals out to be safe, but they should all be back by now,” said Fair President Mike Beller. “We prepared campers and everything for the worst and just secured everything.”
There was a concern about predictions for the third consecutive storm on Tuesday nigh to be the worst of the week, but thankfully it didn’t hit the fairgrounds a second time. Wednesday, livestock moved back in, food vendors returned, and the Midway operators got back into business and the fair reopened.
“We had to cancel the rodeo for tonight (Wednesday) because we couldn’t prepare the area where we wanted it and the secondary area just wasn’t big enough to handle it,” Beller said. “All of the events are going to go on.”
The events are highlighted by concerns Friday and Saturday by Nashville recording artist Julie Reeves and Meghan Linsey from the Voice.
“This is only the second flash flood we’ve had during the fair. We had one years ago and it only lasted half a day and it was over,” said Beller. “It was right at the beginning as this was, but we survived it and went on. We’re trying to survive this.”
Beller said the forecast for the duration of Fair Week looks good and he’s hoping for some Sunshine on Thursday to dry up the mud and make it a little more inviting for the public to return and enjoy the fair.