MISSION HILLS (KGTV) — A San Diego County CrossFit gym that flooded on New Year's Day reopened the next morning thanks to members who volunteered to help with cleanup efforts.
CrossFit Humanity experienced knee-deep flooding after parts of San Diego County received around 2 inches of rain between New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. The water reached almost knee level in some areas of the gym.
"The infrastructure around here doesn't always drain the water as fast as we hope it does, and so when it rains a lot, the water just kind of comes over the curb and just starts flowing into the space," said Stephanie Ring, director of coach and athlete development at CrossFit Humanity.
This marked the third or fourth major flood the gym has experienced, with "major" meaning water actually entering the facility.
When members arrived on January 1st expecting to exercise, they instead participated in a different kind of workout - cleanup duty.
"We had about 15 or 20 members come in through, you know, dredging through the water and through the rain to come in and clean mats and dry them out and move equipment," Ring said.
The cleanup process involved pulling up all the matting and cleaning both the tops and bottoms of the mats as well as the floor. The aftermath is still visible with fans in every corner and sandbags at every door.
While the gym will eventually need new matting, which could cost up to $40,000, Ring says the support from members was invaluable.
"We just really appreciate how much everybody cares about this space and this community and making sure that we're able to be here together, you know, continuing on even with a flood," Ring said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
