Kyle Wilson was in the right place at the right time Wednesday, to pull a young man to safety amid torrential rains up north.

Big Rapids Logged Four Inches Of Rain In Less Than An Hour

A series of slow moving, major thunderstorms skated just north of the Grand Rapids metro area Wednesday afternoon, and those storms brought torrential rains to Big Rapids, Mecosta and Isabella Counties.

Mecosta County Emergency Management said Big Rapids and surrounding areas received about four inches of rain in just less than an hour, while Isabella County measured four and a half inches in that same time frame.

The mini-monsoon caused many creeks and rivers to overflow their banks, causing some serious flooding issues for most residents.

At least one Big Rapids resident, Tim Wallace found the going slow trying to return to his house after visiting his mom on the Lakeshore.

"I couldn’t get (to my house). There was no way to get here except driving through water.” Wallace told WOOD-TV 8.

After getting through, Wallace found his basement flooded, causing considerable damage.

We had a chest freezer we had to replace,” he said. “Washer and drier had to be replaced. And everything that got flooded.”

The Worst Flooding In Mecosta County Since 1982

The National Weather Service said the flooding around Big Rapids Wednesday was the worst since 1982. They also say the  chance for some additional thunderstorms remain high for Thursday, with once again most of the action to be well north of Grand Rapids.

Officials remind residents not to try and drive through flooded roads, or take chances in the flood waters, as the massive currents brought on by flash flooding are rapid and could wash you away very quickly.

A Young Man Was Rescued From Rapid Currents During Wednesdays Flash Flood

WOOD-TV 8 photojournalist Kyle Wilson was getting some drone footage of the flooding near Mitchell Creek Park Wednesday when he noticed a young man jump into the rising waters, perhaps to get some relief form the near 90 degree temperatures.

Wilson said the man was quickly swept up in the fast current and tried to hold on to a park bench to avoid getting ripped downstream. As the bench was giving way, Wilson grabbed a lighting pole from his equipment and held it out for the man to grab. Wilson was able to then pull him to safety.

Wilson is a fellow CMU alumni, so hats off to him for making a quick decision to help out, even though he was kind of non-chalant about it on his Twitter feed, shrugging it off as it was all in a day's work. Keep in mind, he accomplished all of this while never ruining his self-proclaimed "Runner Up Best Hair 2009".

 

Vintage Cheboygan

 

 

 

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