CUMBERLAND — Surging waterways fueled by steady rain and melting of up to 2 feet of snow in Western Maryland and surrounding areas closed the toll bridge at Oldtown and the low-water bridge at Little Orleans by 10 a.m. Friday, according to the Allegany County 911 center.

Evitts, George and Wills, Town and 15-Mile creeks were running full at that hour as rainfall continued throughout the Allegany County region but no emergency situations had been reported.

In Garrett County and Mineral County, no emergencies were reported as of noon. “Right now, it’s pretty slow. We haven’t had anything water-related,” said a Mineral County 911 dispatcher. A similar calm was reported at the Hampshire County 911 center.

As of 7 a.m. Friday, rainfall totaled .58 inch within the previous 24-hour period, according to Tim Thomas, local observer for the National Weather Service who is also a 911 dispatcher in Allegany County.

Officials in Allegany and Garrett counties have declared local states of emergency and have cautioned anyone from conducting unnecessary travel.

Thomas was fielding calls at the 911 center Friday along with fellow communication officers. Water-related calls were sparse by mid-afternoon with only a couple of reports of flooded basements.

The National Weather Service forecast called for up to 5 inches of rain through Saturday night. Flood watches were issued for the region and much of the state by the NWS.

“If we get that amount of precipitation, with the creeks running full or out of their banks already, there will be some major issues to deal with,” said Thomas. “The critical issue is how much rain we get and the time frame we get it in.”

At 1 p.m., the Potomac River at Wiley Ford, W.Va., measured at 11.17 feet, which is about 6 feet below flood stage, Thomas said. The National Weather Service said the Potomac River's north branch at Paw Paw, W.Va., could measure 35.5 feet by Sunday. Flooding would occur at 32 feet, according to the agency.

The rising waters prompted the Thomas Hyundai Subaru dealership to move its vehicles to higher ground by late Friday morning.

“Allegany County homeland security officials advised us that Wills Creek measured 8.5 feet at the rear of our property at 11 a.m., and flooding is at 10 feet. They expected the creek to crest there at between 13 and 14 feet,” said General Manager Chris Carpenter.

On Jan. 19, 1996, heavy rain and quick snowmelt caused severe flooding in Motor City. The creek crested at 23.11 feet at Locust Grove that day. The river crested at 25.56 feet in Wiley Ford. During the flood of 1936, the river crested at 29 feet at Wiley Ford, Thomas said.

Two hundred vehicles were being moved Friday to Country Club Mall in anticipation of possible flooding along state Route 36 at Motor City. Allegany County officials reportedly notified all of the Motor City dealerships of the potential for flooding there.

A privately owned bridge near Corriganville was completely submerged and closed by county officials. The bridge appeared to blocked with debris, causing the rapid waters to be diverted off course and directly toward Motor City.

“We began moving our vehicles at 10 a.m. We have 12 workers and we’re using two shuttles to bring back six drivers in each shuttle. We expect it to take eight hours to move all our vehicles,” said Carpenter.

The dealership moved customer files and its computer server to the second floor of its building at 10325 Mount Savage Road.

“We’re safeguarding our vehicles and customer data. We’ve also instructed our employees to take their PCs home tonight,”  he said.

Working in Locust Grove situated between Cumberland and Motor City, two U.S. Geological Survey hydrologic technicians recorded measurements of Wills Creek early Friday afternoon. Matt Baker and Eric Boyd collected data showing a rapid flow of more than 6,500 cubic feet of water per second. Normal flow rates range between 150 and 350 cfs.

Baker said the area, for which flooding occurs at 10 feet, is expected to reach 11.2 feet by late Saturday.

“It has potential” to wreak havoc similar to 1996, Baker said.

The Frostburg Volunteer Fire Department station on East Main was set up as a command center early Friday afternoon for flood-related calls in the Georges Creek area, according to Frostburg Councilman Bob Flanigan, who serves as the city’s public safety commissioner.

At about 3 p.m. Friday, Dick DeVore, chief of Allegany County’s Emergency Management Division, said the county’s mobile command center would be moving to the Frostburg fire department. The Allegany County Special Operation Swift Water Rescue Team was also staging equipment there.

Contact Jeffrey Alderton at jlalderton@times-news.com. Staff writer Kevin Spradlin contributed to this article.