It is with sorrow that I must announce the Port Malabar 600 yard range suffered catastrophic damage from Hurricane Irma. What follows are excerpts from a release dated 9/15/17 from Director Francois LeBreton’s email to club members. Immediate action has been taken to access the damage. There is hope to get the range open for practice in a few weeks. However the FSSA State Championships, all monthly matches, and perhaps even the Snowbird X-Miss Match have been cancelled. Eric Kennard
Fellow shooters,
It is our hope that everyone survived and fared well from the Wrath of Irma,
and are recovering quickly.
Port Malabar Rifle and Pistol Club fared reasonably well, with lots of wind and
flooding - similar effects as it has been in past tropical storms over the
years. Overall, we sustained small or light damage with the exception of the
High Power Range. Clean-up is in process and once waters recede, most of the
range will re-open soon...
The High Power Range pits or "Butts", on the contrary, sustained significant
structural damages from this Hurricane. Without going into all the gory &
technical details but rather, in a nutshell, here is a description of what
happened:
The "Rain Water" soaked the FRONT protection berm (just behind the number
boards) so much that at one point of the storm, large portions of it became
liquefied mud and created significant hydro-static pressure against the alcove
walls. The walls, in turn, started to collapse into the pits and in the process,
pushed the cement walkway. Visibly, you can see from target 4 up to target 17,
the walkway has moved significantly. There were permanent (dead-man) braces in
the berm. But they either failed or rusted after 30 years....
It would have been a complete disaster if it were not for some of the target
carriers (cantilevers) that were pulled down into the pits during the storm.
They stopped the walkway's sliding progression by resting against some of the
carriers. In its present state, the pits are still susceptible to collapse if we
release the carriers from their precarious positions or if we get another
serving of heavy rains....
…… The walkway cement slab slid forward, buckled under the pressure and has several
cracks. The cracks are significant. No data yet on footings and foundations.
We have no status on the E-Targets yet. Power is not restored to the range as I
write this. But, it has sustained some physical damage to the conduits and
wiring that run along the front part of the walkway. Once the power is restored,
we will be in a position to test the system. Preliminary visual assessments look
like it is going to be OK.
The target shed flooded but appears intact at first assessment. One conex
floated off its base and will need to be re-positioned.
The back receiving berm (or impact berm) has suffered some erosion and parts of
it has collapsed or slid down. At the present time, it is usable and can be
repaired.
What's the prognosis?? Too early to tell, but the club's Board of Directors is
committed to getting the High Power Range running again.
Long term, the range will need to be fully shut down for a long period so that
we can proceed with the permanent fixes to restore the pits. This will most
likely occur during the slow part of the season. These actions will take
significant planning, due process and monies...
Be patient!!! Thank you! Cheers!
Francois LeBreton
PMRPC Rifle Director
Fellow shooters,
It is our hope that everyone survived and fared well from the Wrath of Irma,
and are recovering quickly.
Port Malabar Rifle and Pistol Club fared reasonably well, with lots of wind and
flooding - similar effects as it has been in past tropical storms over the
years. Overall, we sustained small or light damage with the exception of the
High Power Range. Clean-up is in process and once waters recede, most of the
range will re-open soon...
The High Power Range pits or "Butts", on the contrary, sustained significant
structural damages from this Hurricane. Without going into all the gory &
technical details but rather, in a nutshell, here is a description of what
happened:
The "Rain Water" soaked the FRONT protection berm (just behind the number
boards) so much that at one point of the storm, large portions of it became
liquefied mud and created significant hydro-static pressure against the alcove
walls. The walls, in turn, started to collapse into the pits and in the process,
pushed the cement walkway. Visibly, you can see from target 4 up to target 17,
the walkway has moved significantly. There were permanent (dead-man) braces in
the berm. But they either failed or rusted after 30 years....
It would have been a complete disaster if it were not for some of the target
carriers (cantilevers) that were pulled down into the pits during the storm.
They stopped the walkway's sliding progression by resting against some of the
carriers. In its present state, the pits are still susceptible to collapse if we
release the carriers from their precarious positions or if we get another
serving of heavy rains....
…… The walkway cement slab slid forward, buckled under the pressure and has several
cracks. The cracks are significant. No data yet on footings and foundations.
We have no status on the E-Targets yet. Power is not restored to the range as I
write this. But, it has sustained some physical damage to the conduits and
wiring that run along the front part of the walkway. Once the power is restored,
we will be in a position to test the system. Preliminary visual assessments look
like it is going to be OK.
The target shed flooded but appears intact at first assessment. One conex
floated off its base and will need to be re-positioned.
The back receiving berm (or impact berm) has suffered some erosion and parts of
it has collapsed or slid down. At the present time, it is usable and can be
repaired.
What's the prognosis?? Too early to tell, but the club's Board of Directors is
committed to getting the High Power Range running again.
Long term, the range will need to be fully shut down for a long period so that
we can proceed with the permanent fixes to restore the pits. This will most
likely occur during the slow part of the season. These actions will take
significant planning, due process and monies...
Be patient!!! Thank you! Cheers!
Francois LeBreton
PMRPC Rifle Director
