CANTON, N.C. — Accurate Auto Repair has been a staple to the Canton community for 17 years.
It was a complete devastation for owner Jeff Ensley, who has not seen a storm this extreme since back-to-back hurricanes hit the area in 2004.
What You Need To Know
The Pigeon River in Canton peaked at 19.6 feet Tuesday
Accurate Auto Repair was destroyed by flooding from Tropical Storm Fred
The shop estimates about $50,000 in equipment destroyed or lost so far
“It was kind of touch and go, we really thought we were going to avoid it,” Ensley said.
Ensley’s auto repair shop is located near the Pigeon River, which is known to flood. According to Haywood County officials, the river peaked at 19.6 feet Tuesday.
“I was checking the rivers till about three o’clock, they were up pretty bad, so we got all of the cars out of the parking lot and got them to a safe area, we started picking up stuff in the shop,” Ensley said.
Within that hour, the river began flooding and surging quickly into his property. Ensley said they had less than an hour before they were knee deep in water.
“I came in and said 'get what you got, get our trucks on the road, get everything you can and get out,'” Ensley said.
Three cars remain on car jacks, about 6 feet above ground. Ensley said the water surged over the top of his shop, completely submerging the building.
“I didn’t know how bad it was gonna be, but it blew out the whole back of the shop, the sides, the front,” Ensley said.
Instead of being a normal work day of repairing cars Wednesday, Ensley and employees were salvaging equipment and searching for tools washed away in the flood. The gravel parking lot, turned to completely soggy and muddy.
“Honestly don’t know how much we lost. There’s still tons of special tools, big boxes that we haven’t found yet, and there is thousands of dollars worth of that,” Ensley said.
He estimates as of now, about $50,000 worth of equipment lost to damages. He was able to get out some computer equipment from the office before the flooding got bad.
“At that point, there’s nothing you can do. I got everybody out and I drove home,” Ensley said.
Ensley plans to re-open his shop at a different location in the neighborhood.
“I’ve got my family, everybody’s good. It’s just a bump, it’s just a bump,” Ensley said.