Gurnee Volunteers Lay Sandbags To Keep Floodwaters At Bay
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Sandbags are, once again, being filled by the hundreds outside of Warren Township High School in Gurnee.
Volunteers, ranging in age from six-years-old to those in their late sixties, filled sandbags at a feverish pace.
One volunteer, a 42-year Gurnee resident, arrived around 9:30 Saturday morning. "My husband and I ran down here and there were just a few guys from the village sandbagging. We asked if they needed help, they said yes, so we came back."
She said more people started showing up as well.
Creeping floodwaters have consumed more than a quarter of the north parking lot at Warren Township High School.
This comes just a few days after volunteers and village employees spent another full day filling sandbags.
Mayor Kristina Kovarik called the flooding "epic," and says those who volunteer are welcome.
She says the flooding could have caused far more damage, had the village not spent the past 10 years buying flood-prone properties and returning the wetlands to their natural state.