Evacuees Wait as Dam Is Patched

Leaks Force 2,200 Out Of Aspen Hill

Standing at the base of a leaking dam with weaknesses he has grown to know all too well, parks worker Wayne Gilman tried to suppress thoughts of the dreadful scenario that led to the unprecedented evacuation of more than 2,200 people early yesterday in Aspen Hill.

"If it bursts, where are we going to run?" said Gilman, 59, one of the dozens of workers tasked yesterday with fortifying Rock Creek Regional Park's Lake Needwood dam, which was dangerously softened by the deluge that battered the Washington region this week. "When you're standing there and you're looking up, you think, if this bulges, what tree am I going to hold on to?"

A hastily assembled team of engineers and construction workers patched up about a half-dozen small holes at the base of the earthen dam by blanketing it with a thick layer of sandbags and gravel. The recent storms have posed the gravest threat to the structure since Hurricane Agnes caused Lake Needwood to overflow in 1972.

At 11 p.m. yesterday, Montgomery County spokeswoman Donna Bigler said the dam was still being monitored for the possibility of a rupture, even as the water appeared to be receding. She said authorities would reassess the dam this morning.

"One thing we know for certain is we will not be able to sound the all-clear this evening," said Bruce Romer, Montgomery chief administrative officer, at the county's emergency operations center.

The National Weather Service extended a flash-flood warning until 2 a.m. today for the area around the dam. It said that seepage continued but that the water level behind the dam was "falling slowly."

Authorities said that they would not prevent residents from returning to retrieve medicines or valuables, but Romer cautioned against it.

"They need to be alert, and they need to get in and get out very quickly," he said. "There is risk, and we caution people to think twice about doing that."

About 150 people were expected to spend last night at a shelter at Wheaton High School. Cots lined the cafeteria where the bleary-eyed looked at an indefinite stay.

Elizabeth Kelly, 44, who, like many at the shelter, lives at Rock Creek Terrace Apartments, said that optimism was demanded.

"If I go home and there's nothing there, I'll just have to start over," she said. "It's not the end of the world. . . . We're all in one piece."

Romer, who made the decision to evacuate, said the area selected was based on a map of the potential flooding. "We've evacuated the area that could be subject to loss of life or property damage," he said.