Weather almost killed my wife and Jeep today

[bhicks]

Makes sense! Just be thankful you had Brody with you!

So you guys are stranded up there until they clear the road?

That's correct. I just walked down to the end of my road that was flooded through and the fire department was already working on clearing our road. I jumped inthe Explorer and headed down to the big mud slide area. I wasn't able to get close because the road was all blocked off and there was heavy dirt moving equipment everywhere. I was able to take pics of the upper area about 150ft above where my wife got stuck. This area is about 3-4 feet deep in mud and debris unlike the 10'+ where my wife got stuck. The vehicles that were with her have not been located. The mud flow covered them up completely and they don't know if they are simply buried or actually got pushed down stream. Some of the pics suck because I was trying to drive at the same time. I will post them up as soon as they are done loading onto photobucket.

 

[tone]

Crazy!

 

[bhicks]

Here's a few pics I took. I will post more once I can actually get down to the bigger slide area. The first is at the end of my road right after the fire dept. cleared the smaller mud slide.

Here's a shot of the new road they made so we could get out.

The next few are pics I took while driving. They are of a couple vehicles at the edge of the slide. One is an MJ that might be salvagable.

 

[GrimmJeeper]

WOW :shocked:

 

[Gerr]

Glad it ended well but frankly your very lucky.

Moral of the story should have been when they warn you not to drive through a area guess what its probably not a good idea. I have seen many unlucky folks over the years in similar situations.

 

[tone]

Go ask that guy with the mj if it's for sale now

 

[Four2score]

But I have to ask what was the wife doing driving the jeep?

Dude!

Don't you know?

Chicks dig em!!!!

:laugh3:

 

[silverslk]

Glad it ended well but frankly your very lucky.

Moral of the story should have been when they warn you not to drive through a area guess what its probably not a good idea. I have seen many unlucky folks over the years in similar situations.

From what I read the fire fighters on scene were negligent in telling him "The fire men told me that the canyon above was about the flood through and if I planned to go home I needed to haul butt through". If they know a flood is coming, they should have closed the road to EVERYONE...PERIOD!

 

[Gerr]

Your right Andy they should have just closed it off if there was imminent danger, and by the same token some one needs to have the brains not to drive in there when being told about the danger let alone calling loved ones and telling them to do it too. Yes you might be lucky but maybe they won't be.

 

[GrimmJeeper]

Yes you might be lucky but maybe they won't be.

Let's not beat the guy up Dan, I'm sure he's learned his lesson.

 

[johnnyc]

Your right Andy they should have just closed it off if there was imminent danger, and by the same token some one needs to have the brains not to drive in there when being told about the danger let alone calling loved ones and telling them to do it too. Yes you might be lucky but maybe they won't be.

That was my first thought too Dan. If it was me, I would called my wife and told her NOT to drive home. Let's meet up at a relative's or friend's house, or even a Motel 6 to wait it out.

Not beating up on Brad, but I'm just saying. Glad your family (and Jeep) are safe Brad!

 

[socal billl]

That was my first thought too Dan. If it was me, I would called my wife and told her NOT to drive home. Let's meet up at a relative's or friend's house, or even a Motel 6 to wait it out.

And what's the name of this imaginary wife?:laugh:

I'm glad everyone involved is safe.

 

[CaliXJ]

Wow man! Glad to hear you two are safe! As I was reading this I thought for sure your jeep was filled up and washed away. I hate to say it but I think my stupid a$$ would have probably went back to save my junk too.

 

[91blackbox]

that mj ahs been there for years too.. i dont think i have ever seen it move ...

 

[bhicks]

I know some of you felt like I shouldn't have called my wife to head home but you have to understand I have seen the canyon flood through in that spot many times. It is usually nasty but not enough debris to cover a car. It's usually a foot or two deep and easily passible with a 4wd. The firemen all felt like this was going to be a normal flood, but it was MUCH bigger then anyone anticipated. My decision making was based on personal past experience and what the trained firemen were saying. Nobody expected that amount of debris flow. I was so happy to see the firemen realize their error (as I realized my HUGE error) and spring into action. They had my wife out of that Jeep so fast and out of danger. I owe a huge debt to those men.

 

[89xjJe3per]

Wow really really glad you guys are ok, sounds like she had the big man with her on that one man! The jeep will survive, im sure when you get to actually inspect all the damage it wont be TOO bad i mean hell you got 35's skids and built d44s rite? Again very glad to read that everyone made it out safe and you got the jeep out i would of done the same!

 

[bhicks]

I forgot about the damage report. I was able to get to my Jeep a few hours ago. It's not horrible but it's not good either. Here we go: the front bumper got crammed up into my front clip a little, the gas tank skid got mashed, the passenger side slider got pushed up into the rocker panel a little, my steering is all fubard, my rear driveshaft is bent to hell and my front has a broken u-joint, the passenger side motor mount is toast (my guess is that I did that slamming it in and out of reverse when trying to get out of the mud), and the transfer case is making a horrible grinding noise. My exhaust also got a little crunched and my carpet is a soaking wet muddy mess. I'm not sure if the damage occured when my wife tried to escape and got more stuck or when I tried to get it out by putting the pedal to the floor until I landed on high ground. Either way I jacked up a lot of stuff. The good news is that I recieved no body damage or broken glass. It's all stuff I can bend back or fix with low cost repairs. My only real concern is my transfer case. The grinding has me VERY concerned. My hope is that my driveshaft with a broken u-joint up front and my bent driveshaft out back is putting weird stress loads on the output shafts and that it will all go away once I repair/replace both driveshafts. Tomorrow I have a little bit of time for repairs so I will just do cosmetic repairs with a BFH. My thinking is that if a rock bent it then a 12lbs sledge should straighten it. I hope.

 

[johnnyc]

Maybe the transfer case linkage got messed up. Try getting under the Jeep and shifting the transfer case by hand.

 

[boostamante]

that mj ahs been there for years too.. i dont think i have ever seen it move ...

Yeah, i been up there for at least 2 years and i havent seen it move. I have thougth about leaving a note and seeing if its for sale.

Glad you are OK brad. What a way to bring in Xmas. Last time i went up ( when it had snowed ) i almost lost it on the ICY road coming down. That area can be dangerous when the weather is wet or snowy.

 

[4wheel98cherokee]

Wow, what a crazy story man, I am glad to hear you and your wife are okay, it's a good thing everything damaged can be replaced relatively easily because you have a awesome rig.