The owner of the Kirbyville Auction Barn is preparing to reopen after the barn’s livestock was flooded out of the house.
BEAUMONT, Texas — Kirbyville Auction Barn owner Jeff Muckleroy is preparing to reopen after six feet of rapid floodwaters filled the barn grounds and flooded the barn’s livestock from their homes.
It caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage.
Muckleroy says this isn’t the first time he’s had to deal with damage to his business.
“This is probably the seventh or sixth in the last 25 or 30 years,” he said.
Muckleroy, with the help of first responders, safely rescued more than a dozen livestock by boat. Take the animals one by one to a safe location.
“This was the first flood I’ve ever experienced without much warning,” Muckleroy told 12News. “We had 16 inches of water here. When you get that much rain, it doesn’t take long for the water to come up. ” he said.
When the water receded the next day, the aftermath of the flood became apparent.
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“Not counting the loss of business, the damages would be anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000,” Muckleroy said.
The tractor and welding machine were damaged beyond repair, and all office electronics and more than three years’ worth of paper records were destroyed.
“All we can do now is start all over again, but thank the Lord we didn’t lose any people or animals,” Muckleroy said.
Muckleroy told 12News it’s fortunate that key elements of the auction operation remain in place.
“We recovered the PA system, the scales. We cleaned them. So they’re okay. If we had lost them, it would have been a disaster,” he said. Told.
Asked about the structural integrity of the barn, Mr Muckleroy said: “No worries.”
“It’s all brick and mortar, no sheetrock. There’s very little wood. This isn’t the first time we’ve flooded,” he said.
Mr Muckleroy said he expected a busy weekend once the barn reopened.
“We’ll be up and running. Fully functional. We’ll have 500 to 600 cows, a few hundred goats and sheep, a handful of pigs and a few horses,” he told 12News.
Muckleroy would like to thank the entire community and first responders who made it possible.
“This really shows the heart of the community. It’s great!”
Texas is still asking people whose homes or property were damaged in last week’s storms to report it to the Texas Department of Emergency Management’s ISTAT system.
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This is a developing story. We will update further once we have further confirmed information.
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