Flooding prompts changes to Washington and Greene Counties Covered Bridge Festival

The best words to describe the ground around the Henry and Ebenezer covered bridges in Mingo Creek County Park on Thursday morning after a 2-hour heavy rain were flooded, soggy and saturated.

The two sites were supposed to be among nine locations hosting this weekend's EQT Washington and Greene Counties Covered Bridge Festival. But on Friday, while creek waters had receded, the ground was still in rough shape.

Out of an abundance of caution, organizers canceled the festival at those two locations, said Jeff Kotula, the president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce.

"Yeah, this weather has really had an effect on many events across the region," Kotula said. "Primarily through August and now we are seeing it in September. And it seems we are just in some type of rain cycle now, but things change of course and we'll be ready when they are."

KDKA reached out to several vendors who were affected by these two sites closing and everyone we communicated with said they were able to find space at one of the seven other locations for the festival.

"We are seeing a lot of very positive responses from the other sites and from our vendors," said Kotula. "So we feel very confident that the vendors will find some locations. That has been very important to us to make sure we are making those connections between our vendors and the other sites throughout the counties."

Again, the EQT Washington and Greene Counties Covered Bridge Festival is still going on, just minus the two locations in Mingo Creek County Park.

For more information on this free event and the seven operating locations this weekend, visit the website.