CEDAR FALLS -- The Cedar River rolled through the neighborhood, and mobile homes anchored under mature pine trees did not respond well to the violation.

The muddy torrent rose so quickly some residents escaped by canoe. Others rode out on a John Deere loader or got a lift from firefighters in rescue boats.

One mobile home floated off its supports. Buoyant LP tanks also broke free, and the oversized silver bobbers headed downstream. Unable to withstand the current, sheds buckled and decks capsized.

Trees lining a protective earthen berm -- which was supposed to protect Green Acres Mobile Home Villa -- acted like a strainer. Recliners, garbage cans, stuffed animals and bits of everyday life got hung up in the trunks, which are arranged like a picket fence along the park's southern border.

Four months after the Cedar River escaped its normal boundaries, Green Acres remains a wasteland. Prior to the high water the park hosted 46 mobile homes and probably at least 150 residents. Today one home is still standing -- but only because the owner has not yet found anyone to tear it down.

"Total devastation. I mean there was nothing left. Absolutely nothing left," Mike Brustkern says.

Nothing but stinking homes filled with waterlogged, rotting debris. Brustkern owned 27 of them.

"I couldn't do anything but get rid of them."

Brustkern bought Green Acres following the flood in 1993. About 10 homes were damaged then, but Brustkern believes the previous owner had seen enough.

"I guess he was a little stressed out."

Surrounded

Brustkern brought in 3 feet of dirt in some places to elevate lots. Mobile homes went up on cinder blocks.

Some, like the one owned by resident Greg Francis, were 10 feet or more in the air and accessible only by a flight of stairs.

A friend called Francis at 3:30 in the morning on the day the water from up north arrived in Cedar Falls. He didn't believe the warning.

"I thought he was screwing with me," Francis says.

Looking out a window, Francis realized he and his girlfriend were surrounded. They paddled out in a canoe and watched the water rise 2 feet in about an hour.

Francis, 42, left with medicine to control his diabetes, two cats, a change of clothes and what food from the freezer he could carry. By chance, because he was putting in a new floor, an entertainment center and a chair were in storage.

"Dumb luck," he says.

The rest of his belongings soaked for days in filthy water, including mementos from his late mother.

"Every birthday card -- from when I was 1 year old until 1989 -- is lying in a Dumpster somewhere," Francis says.

Mel Beatty, 74, another resident, slept in his pickup for two months, partly to keep an eye on his property, partly because he didn't like available options for temporary housing. He has since moved into a mobile home north of Lincoln Street.

"It's been pure hell since God knows when."

Though he has a place to lay his head, Beatty says the new address is not yet a home.

"In a way, it's just a place to live right now," he says.

Initially, Beatty visited Green Acres frequently.

"It was hard to take for a long time. Nothing you could do about it. Some people just sat down and cried," he says.

Returning when the water level dropped, Francis remembers his first thoughts: "'This is my house. I'm losing my house.'"

He did. As of this week, Francis' lot is a muddy patch of dirt with ruts left by a friend's skid loader and a puddle created by recent rains. His deck is upside down in the street 50 feet away.

Francis spends most weekdays in Green Acres. He promised to clean up his own property and to help several neighbors. He salvages what metal he can for a few dollars that barely reward the effort.

Lost

Brustkern describes Green Acres as a neighborhood in the best sense of the word. Young people. Families. Retirees. Folks with low to moderate incomes.

"Most people knew each other, like a little community," he says.

His renters and the lot owners tended to stick around. Most had lived in Green Acres for years.

"We didn't have a big turnaround."

Despite what happened in June, Brustkern says he has a waiting list with people interested in living in Green Acres. His plans to rebuild are on hold, though, because he says the utility company wants him to install new overhead power lines.

"That's my holdup. Where's the money coming from when there's no income?" Brustkern asks.

He estimates the flood created losses and expenses that probably approach $500,000. Replacing the wires will add to that figure.

"I imagine it's going to be substantial, probably over $100,000 if not more. I'm afraid to find out," Brustkern says.

So he focuses on cleaning up.

Ron Gaines, director of development services for Cedar Falls, says Brustkern is free to rebuild. Mobile homes must be installed according to existing codes, which includes a minimum height of 1 foot above the 100-year floodplain, but Gaines says city officials aren't making any new demands.

To help owners of mobile home parks, Cedar Falls continues to supply roll-off refuse containers and to haul away debris. Homeowners can also take debris caused by the flood to the transfer station, Gaines says.

He estimates more than 100 mobile homes in Cedar Falls were damaged and acknowledges the flood's historic nature.

"No matter what, this, from all indications, was very close to a 500-year storm," Gaines says.

Next step

Brustkern bought Green Acres after a flood but underestimated the Cedar River's potential to reach the homes.

"It kind of caught us all off guard. I'd never thought it would get into them."

He says he will begin again and will start by raising the ground level -- again.

"I'm going to add more dirt, definitely."

"We're definitely going to rebuild. It's just a matter of small steps."

Francis found another mobile home in a different park and probably won't return to Green Acres. He doesn't expect many of his former neighbors to come back either. When his cleanup work is done, Francis will be, too.

He says a similar thought enters his mind each day when he visits his former neighborhood.

"Wow. That's all I can say. What a lot of work."

Contact Dennis Magee at (319) 291-1451 or dennis.magee@wcfcourier.com.