MACCLENNY, Fla. – The St. Marys River swelled 11 feet above flood stage Wednesday, swallowing homes, sheds and cars in northern Baker County.
Even some homes on stilts were under water.
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The river reached 23.3 feet at midday -- surpassing its historic 1964 crest by 1 inch -- and is forecast to rise another inch or two before slowing receding.
The Baker County Sheriff's Office says about 100 people left their homes north of Macclenny after a mandatory evacuation order Tuesday night, but a few refused to leave.
Out with a Florida Fish and Wildlife officer patrolling the properties by boat Wednesday, Channel 4's Jason Law ask those staying put why they wouldn't leave.
"Protecting the property," was Jimmy Jesseman's answer.
FWC officer Bret Gill said those staying probably won't have electricity for the next week.
"Until it starts going down," Gill said. "It's still rising."
Joe Orfield did evacuate when asked, but was out in a canoe Wednesday checking on his property.
"I'm OK right now, as long as it doesn't come up another foot," Orfield said.
State Road 121 crossing the St. Marys River at the Florida-Georgia border remains impassable. The Red Cross had a shelter open at Macclenny Elementary School for those displaced by the flooding. It opened another shelter Wednesday at New Life Baptist Church on Wheeler Street in St. George, Ga.
"May 14th we were in a drought, a total drought in Baker County, one of the worst we've had. And now this," Baker County Sheriff Joey Dobson said on Tuesday. "When it comes out of the boat ramp, then we know we're in trouble."