Conway teens venture out on horseback to survey Hurricane Dorian aftermath

After Hurricane Dorian brought heavy rain and winds Thursday, people in the Conway area began to venture out Friday to survey the scene, some on horseback.

In the Maple community near Conway, residents say a few downed trees seem to be the extent of the damage.

Russell and Kristi Johnson live with their two kids on S.C. Highway 65 where a downed tree blocked the James F. Fleming Bridge.

The Johnsons have lived in their Highway 65 home for 20 years. They’ve weathered many storms from the house in that time.

“As far as the wind and all, this was not bad,” Russell Johnson said. “This was not bad at all.”

His biggest worry through the night was not flooding or high wind, but that cars speeding down the highway would crash into the downed tree in front of their home.

But at 9:30 a.m., Horry Electric Cooperative crews were working on removing the tree.

Two Conway High School seniors on horses tried to cross the blocked bridge to check on flooding in other communities Friday morning.

Kaylee Mikres, riding American paint horse Willy, and Miss Conway High Elizabeth Rutherford, riding quarter-horse Barbie, said they live nearby.

The 17-year-olds wanted to see how other nearby neighborhoods fared in the storm. Mikres said she crossed the bridge after Hurricane Florence last year, when the bridge flooded.

A car didn’t make it across, but she and Willy did. So she assumed it wouldn’t be hard to cross this year.

“I didn’t know it was this bad,” she said. “I figured we could get through it.”

Horry Electric crews were still clearing the tree as they waited to cross.

Rutherford said they were relieved Dorian’s effects weren’t as bad as predicted.

“What scared me was the tornado warning,” Rutherford said. “That was really bad.”

Rutherford and Mikres waited for close to an hour to cross the bridge.

Horry Electric crews reopened the bridge to one lane just before 11 a.m. and Mikres and Rutherford were able to go.

Grier Swamp flooded over Long Avenue Extension on the north side of Conway. The floodwaters extended to a home next to the swamp.

This story was originally published September 6, 2019 at 12:04 PM.