We had a roof leak a bit over a year ago that resulted in water
getting under a bit of a hardwood (oak) floor (roughly 30 sq ft
effected). Now that the floor has had a chance to get back to
ambient moisture levels, the boards in the effected area are badly
bowed, such that there is a 1/16"-1/8" gap between the boards.

I've considered kludging the problem with wood putty and sanding, but
the gaps are wide enough this doesn't look like it's gonna be a
reasonable solution.

So, do I have any other options other than ripping / replacing up the
problem boards and refinishing the area? At least the area is along
the edge of the floor, so rip-up won't be drop-dead horrible, but I'm
not really looking forward to the job...