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Douglas Lake marina collapses, boats capsize

10:48 PM, Jul 5, 2012   |    comments
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Much of the dock in the Mountain Cove Marina at Douglas Lake collapsed after strong storms Thursday night.

At least a dozen boats were also badly damaged. Many of them were smashed against the rocks of the cove.

Wind even carried debris over the concrete barrier and on to the hill below.

Rescue crews spent the evening combing through the wreckage, but Sevier County Spokesman Perrin Anderson says all are accounted for and uninjured.

Mark Northern was on his houseboat celebrating the holiday with his family when the storm came through.

He estimates the winds carried his 16 by 72-foot-long houseboat about 80 yards.

"It just took me and everybody that was on that dock like we were just toys. I mean it happened so fast I didn't even know where I was until I walked out the front of the houseboat," said Northern. "And when I walked out the front of the houseboat there was wreckage as far as the eye could see."

Firefighters shut down access to Boat Launch Road for several  hours while crews worked on downed electrical lines.