New Hampshire campgrounds prepare for threat of flash flooding

Campgrounds in New Hampshire were preparing Wednesday for strong storms that could trigger flash flooding.Safety officials warned that anyone outdoors Wednesday afternoon should pay close attention to the forecast.Owners of the Pemi River Campground said they had extra people working to prepare for potential flash flooding."If we see that we're going to get more than 4 inches of water, we take all the campers that have camped along the river, we take them off the river and move them off to a four- or five-foot higher elevation," said Jerry Warren, of Pemi River Campground.>> Download the free WMUR app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play <<Warren has owned the campground for 20 years. He said that even if the rain is concentrated, the campground should be OK as long as there's less than 4 inches of rain. State officials said they're not concerned about any particular river but will be keeping an eye on all of them. In Rumney, officials said the Baker River would be likeliest to flood."If the river comes up high enough, we move out any of the picnic tables, and if there are any campers that are close to the river, we get them up to high ground," said Lisa Russell, of Mountain Pines Campground.The river flooded the Riverbrook Campground this past December."I don't want flash-flooding," said Rosemarie Brown, of South Carolina. "I mean I've been in some of the floodings down there. We were down there during (Hurricane) Ian, in South Carolina. It came up to the back of the camper and everything, but other than that, we haven't. I don't want to deal with it again."The Thornton fire chief said his crews are making sure that all their equipment is ready to go if needed.