# NW Storm



## nootka (Dec 3, 2007)

Hi,

I'm only here for a few. Our phones are messed up and we have not had power since 11:30 Sunday a.m.

We have had gusts up over 100 mph since Sunday morning. Several storms have hit here and we have had epic rain. Our roof is leaking around our chimney and water's coming in our basement.

Right now we have the satellite and one computer hooked up to our generator which is the only way we can communicate with the outside. There are trees down and power lines down on the roads to town so are completely isolated here. Last night a power crew was trying to repair the damage before the storm abated and their truck blew over and into one of the sloughs. I hope noone was hurt, this is all stuff friends can see from their houses.






Those guys are my heroes....what a huge mess this is. The world's largest sitka spruce was killed yesterday in this storm, it was 1400 years old (though it was diseased/sick).

Anyway, we are all fine, the horses are fine. We have had about a dozen trees on our property blow down, some of them over our fence, but so far the barn is fine (there are a FEW trees on our neighbor's side that could hit the barn, but hoping we're ok). The wind is still blowing, so keep your fingers crossed and I will be thinking of you in other parts of the country with weather and storm issues.

Stay safe everyone....and may your damage be minimal!!! At this point, I am guessing it will be 7 days or more before we have electricity to our home. This is like the storm we had last year, but taking longer to finish, and we were out for 6 days then.

Liz & co. (the boat is tied up safely in Warrenton, and likely will not be going out until tomorrow at the earliest)


----------



## ClickMini (Dec 3, 2007)

FLOODING HERE!!! There is not big river flooding YET, but there certainly will be...it is raining hard up at Stevens Pass and Snoqualmie after a lot of snow in the past couple of days...I expect this to be a bad one. This is the bad season for us here in WA, we will get a lot of snow followed by what is known as a Pineapple Express, warm heavy rains and often very windy. This is a bad one for rain totals, it is pouring here. My arena is flooded, my paddocks are flooded, the barn is surrounded by standing water, Tyler and Ben's shelter has a couple of inches of water in it. It is so wet...please stop by with the ARK...


----------



## Basketmiss (Dec 3, 2007)

Nootka, and ClickMini,

I am so sorry to hear of your bad weather.. I hope it stops soon and you get back to normal..

I hate to see anyone lose power, especially for the heat issue, more than anything else.

We are all electric so if we lose power we freeze!!

Keep us informed that you are ok , when you can...


----------



## nootka (Dec 3, 2007)

We do have a woodstove, so we have heat. It is not yet very cold, though, in the mid-50s for temps. These storms are luckily typically very warm. The bad thing is that it's going to take a long time to get power back.

We are walled in with trees and power lines tangled through it all.

If the weather turns cold, we will, indeed, be very cold. But it could be worse and we are all ok.

Good luck everyone with the flooding, the winds (which are still gusting).

I will upload a couple pics we took today from either side of the road to town (we tried to go somewhere but can't get further than a quarter mile one way, and 1.5 miles the other way. We have a truck parked on the other side of one snag, so could possibly get out that way if 202 is open). IF!

Liz


----------



## nootka (Dec 3, 2007)

This is 1/4 mile to the West, the "alternate" way to town that's usually not blocked because it's sheltered by the hills.






This is 1.5 miles to the East/Southeast. If you saw the movie Into the Wild, this is the exact same spot that was in the film where the hippie RV w/the couple picked up Chris McCandless (filmed in June of 2006). It is covered with about 8 huge trees, now, all of which are tangled into power lines. Our "work" truck is on the other side of this snag of trees. I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing right now.

It belongs to the owner of Martin's boat.

Our phones are unable to get out of the city limits. If anyone tries to call me and we don't answer, that's why. You might try our cell....if you need to. I really hope everyone's safe. The storm is STILL raging. I had thought it was over yesterday afternoon....





Liz


----------



## mininik (Dec 3, 2007)

Wow. I'm glad it seems you're all okay! What a mess. The weather here was odd yesterday with rain, sleet and snow mixed in with clearing skies.



At least in our area it has settled for now.


----------



## Mark & Sharon Bullington (Dec 3, 2007)

Well, as some of you know, Sharon and I moved into the 5th wheel full time as of November 2. So we got rocked to sleep last night by the wind. It eally shook the coach up, down, sideways, etc. But no leaks (knock on wood) and we haven't lost power (yet). We are in north Salem in an RV park. But boy howdy is the wind blowing. Hope Liz and all the rest make it through it all with no problems.

Mark


----------



## hhpminis (Dec 3, 2007)

We are north of the storm that is heading east. We are just feeling the aftershocks. Most of our snow is gone now and it poured all night. We are about 40 degrees here right now and it has been highs of 25 or less for a week or so with snow.

We are all fine, but I have poop soup in my corrals. My barn is raised so it is dry. The wind has settled down to a mild one. We have many large trees around our house so the wet ground and wind is always a worry.

All you coasties please check in and let us know that you have not blown off to Oz.

Take care


----------



## Miniv (Dec 3, 2007)

We're east of the Cascade Mountains from Liz............We've had only a sprinkle of rain, temps in the 40's and 50's, but we're getting some wind........Gusts are at 65 to 70 mph........which is a heck of a lot better than the 100 mph ones at the coast!

We have some downed limbs in the yard, but it sounds like we're pretty lucky.......

MA


----------



## LindaL (Dec 3, 2007)

Here in the Portland area, we have LOTS of rain and wind, but the wind isn't really bad (not like at the coast!)...I live in an apt...ground level...and I have a "river" on my back patio area, where there was no water at all until yesterday!!! Good thing my patio is raised just enough that I doubt it will become a problem....I hope!!! Yikes!!

Stay safe everyone!!!


----------



## Shari (Dec 3, 2007)

We had to go into town to get more rope, power was out while we were gone....just hope it doesn't go out again, as I do not want to loose the 700lbs of beef in the Freezer.

That road into town is barely passable, if it keeps raining, no one will be able to get into town that way. Haven't check the other road out. Hubby will figure that one out tomorrow.

Been pouring rain since yesterday,,, waterfalls where they shouldn't be... was expect to see Salmon swiming across the road.





The worse of it should be coming through any time now. Sigh ~~~

Hubby and DS will have to check the property over when the storm is over. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Horses aren't minding the weather...in fact acting like it is a nice day!

Glad you are hanging in there Liz... those pictures are impressive.

Hoping everyone else is doing ok. Has anyone heard from Susanne, Marie, Daryl and everyone else?


----------



## hobbyhorse23 (Dec 3, 2007)

Here in the Seattle area it's been windy but the much larger problem is the rain. My gosh, I grew up here and I don't think I've ever seen so much water come down at one time and for so long! Even in all that flooding last year and the epic 40 straight days of rain the year before our ditches never overran and today when I drove to work I was incredibly grateful that I now have an SUV as there was deep standing water everywhere.



Every single ditch was flooding.

I don't think there are even any branches down in our pastures but then again who could see them under all that water? I even brought Kody into the big horse barn and put him in the stall we used for his surgery because it gave him more room to move around then his own little stall which he was sensibly refusing to leave. You KNOW it's wet when my personal water-rat would rather be locked in a stall! OH!

So far we still have power and since we didn't lose it in the snow and wind on Saturday I don't think we'll lose it from simple rain. I hope! If we do we'll still have heat, just no running water and right now I don't think that's a problem.....

Leia


----------



## Miniv (Dec 3, 2007)

Shari said:


> We had to go into town to get more rope, power was out while we were gone....just hope it doesn't go out again, as I do not want to loose the 700lbs of beef in the Freezer.


Shari -- If you do lose power again -- DO NOT OPEN YOUR FREEZER. It will keep your meat good for at least a couple of days.....and hopefully by then the power will be back on.

MA


----------



## ClickMini (Dec 3, 2007)

Well it is going from bad to worse here with regard to the flooding. I am feeling very depressed today, somehow this time of year can make me long for good ol' Floriday! Well I am going to go suit up and bail out the horse stalls. Cripes! Sick of it! STOP RAINING!!!!! ***shakes fist at sky****


----------



## jayne (Dec 3, 2007)

Amy, look to the west!! It's 3:55pm and I can see the edge of the front coming this way. I am up in Arlington in the foothills and trust me, the end is coming soon!!

I just checked my rain guage and it is reading 1.75 inches, which is low for what everyone else in the area got. We had big winds too, but no damage other than small branches down. I think we were in a little bit of a rain shadow. I actually put the big horses (clydesdale, 2 donkeys, pony) out for from about 6am until 11:30am.

I am so sorry for your flooding. One of my criteria when looking for this farmette was that is not be able to flood, and we were very lucky to find this one in the foothills where everything slopes away from us. I can double up a couple of mine if you need a place to stall a couple of minis or a pony for a while.

My mom lives on the central Oregon coast and they got really badly nailed. Like Liz, they haven't had power since during church yesterday. My mom lives in a senior mobile home park and said many trees are down, but the weird part is that about 1/2 of them were just snapped off like twigs about 2 or 3 feet off the ground, and there were not little trees either. Yikes! She's got a wood stove and can cook on it too, so she's doing fine. Not like she'll run out of wood now!

Hang in there guys, the end is near! Then the clean up......

Jayne


----------



## Shari (Dec 3, 2007)

MA,,, I wish my Freezer wasn't such a cheap model. Last year.. did not open it up at all... and had the power out for 2 days.. and every piece of meat was thawed out.





Freezer at the old farm was much better and had no problems with power outages.

Will just have to save money to see if I can't get the Frig and Freezer plugs wired up for a Generator.... or maybe some of that new solar panels that work in clouds. Sure need to do something if these high winds are the norm.


----------



## Sterling (Dec 3, 2007)

I'm all the way over on the opposite coast but have been keeping tabs on your guys over there. Been watching it all on the news and the weather channels. How scarey is this to have a repeat of last year! I was in touch with Nancy (Equuisize) and in remembering their flood last year we are thankful that so far they have just a few downed trees and altho the power is out there too...all humans and critters are a.o.k. Please be careful, stay safe and check in whenever you can!

BTW...we're getting some whipping winds with gusts of 35 to 40 mph....but nothing compared to what you guys are going thru!


----------



## Mona (Dec 3, 2007)

Keeping you ALL in my prayers.


----------



## Crabby-Chicken (Dec 3, 2007)

This was a wild one!

We have power,,, but our septic started backing up,,, for whatever reason yesterday. My son and husband spent the day digging enough of the ground off to snake some of it out...

On the way to work there are branches and water on the road. I-5 was closed down her and a levy was breeched and people who have NEVER flooded got it. I feel so bad for them,,,

Amy I am glad you got your shopping done, I don't know if that part of town has water or not. Our road we live on is blocked to the north. A lot of schools were closed, of course not ours... But we are lucky.


----------



## nootka (Dec 3, 2007)

I am back up for a while w/my generator and satellite dish.

We are making dinner and hanging out.

There is nowhere in this county to get fuel, and I DO THINK hwy 30 has one lane open between here and Clatskanie.

We cannot use the phones as none can dial in. I can't even call friends that live in the same county to check on them. I am worried about our friend that drives tow. I could not get ahold of him today and his cell sounded odd.

Betting he's ok, just working too hard.

Here are some more photos:






Downtown Astoria today






A large arena a few miles from here...










Our neighbor's house... she's at our house right now.






The falls just above her house...they are usually very small compared to this...and not so brown!






A tree that blew out of the ground last night. I think this tree must be about 150 ft. The man that owns this property was clearing the roads so we could drive to town w/his skidsteer.

Goodnight for now, I may look back in later, but we're all safe and the winds have now subsided at last.

Hope everyone else is safe. The worst floding may be the next flood tide.

Liz


----------



## wcr (Dec 3, 2007)

Liz-I came on to see if your husband had gone out in the boat and thank god he didn't. I have been thinking of you for a couple days.

Raining hard here in southern Oregon and the Rogue River is up but not too bad here yet. Just started today but looks like it may stay awhile. My ranch is all on a slight slope so we are in good shape.

Take care everyone


----------



## ClickMini (Dec 3, 2007)

Back inside now after bailing out the horse stalls. YUK. However, I did have a bright point in my day. I went out to see how deep the water was at the end of the driveway and as I gazed upon the stream that used to be my driveway, *light bulb moment*. I trudged back up to the barn and said, come on Ally girl we are going water schooling! LOL

So I ground drove her all over, by the time we were done we were both drenched from top to bottom, I mean soaked! But that depression that was assailing my mental state earlier in the day had just melted away. We walked through ponds, we trotted through ponds, we went full blast into ponds, woohoo! She was having as much fun as me I think.

It is still pouring here and we just had a couple good power bumps, so I don't know if our power is here to stay. The floodwaters are still rising on the Skykomish where I live and other Washington/Oregon rivers, and I pray everyone stays safe. This truly is a monumental storm!


----------



## Crabby-Chicken (Dec 3, 2007)

THAT sounds like fun! And she probably did appreciate it! Smart little horsie.

Pinky asked me where the lady went with all the good num nums! She was happy someone noticed HER for once!


----------



## ClickMini (Dec 3, 2007)

I wub me some Pinky! 




SO cute!


----------



## nootka (Dec 4, 2007)

Still here. The wind is still blowing, and it's not raining so much, just a few showers here and there.

Awfully dark around here and the phones are still out. Odd to be able to get on the internet at this time.

Take care, everyone....hopefully the floods will spare all of you.

Liz


----------



## PrestigeMiniHorses (Dec 4, 2007)

Hello Everyone I am finally checking in here. We lost some power throughout today. Didn't want to get here til now...Ummm I have been stuck in my apartment for the last 2 days though due to water. I have about a foot in front of my steps and then theres also a pond as I call it at the entrance thats 2 feet deep...Def. hasn't been too good here.. I called and check on my horses though..They have been stuck inside due to their run being flooded and full of mud..Too slick for them to play...I know our arena is flooded so no riding or working horses there for awhile. Right now everyone I think is being trailed down to the Tacoma Unit to be worked. So I just wanted to let you all know Lexi and I are doing here..Hubby almost stalled his car on the way to work though...Hopefully this all will pass over so I can get out of the house..


----------



## hobbyhorse23 (Dec 4, 2007)

Liz, those are some killer pictures! You ought to submit them to the news sites if your internet will work long enough.



ClickMini said:


> However, I did have a bright point in my day. I went out to see how deep the water was at the end of the driveway and as I gazed upon the stream that used to be my driveway, *light bulb moment*. I trudged back up to the barn and said, come on Ally girl we are going water schooling! LOL


Ah-ha! What a way to make lemonade out of lemons.



You must have washed all those blues away and I'm sure next year Ally will be kicking tail as a side benefit!

I too spent tonight bailing stalls but at least mine was all tracked in on hooves or welling up from under the mats instead of actively flowing in the doors. Kody looks like a drowned rat again and wonders why Mama isn't playing with him but he'll just have to live until the ground firms up a bit.

Stay safe everyone! Things are already drier here than last night and the wind, while active, isn't of concern. We haven't even lost power, knock on wood.

Leia


----------



## jayne (Dec 4, 2007)

I sure wish Susanne would check in. Can someone of you who are closer maybe give her a call?

Jayne


----------



## Shari (Dec 4, 2007)

I sent Susanne an email but not answer yet. I missed placed her phone number again but I am sure Liz has it. Has anyone heard from Marie or Daryl?

Wind has sort'a calmed down here and we are getting a wee break from the rain.

If this keeps up... maybe I should buy "water horses"... have puddles within puddles.

Wish I could get down the hill.. we have two waterfalls on the back corner and I bet they are beautiful!!

Will see how the weather goes today and maybe I can ride Dyfra back there.

So much for the rain break...should of kept my mouth shut...no sooner than I say it....its starts to rain...again.





Hope all winter is not like this.


----------



## hhpminis (Dec 4, 2007)

Well I am going to duck as I am sure you will throw your shoe at your computer but right now we have sun and 48 degrees and it is not even 9 AM yet.

According to our weather we will get a bit of a break today and then the rain possible snow starts again tomorrow. I hope it is snow, at least the ground will freeze then.

Kim, our septic system is giving us fits as well. We had the tank pumped but the ground is so saturated that the drain field is backed up as the water can not go into the ground. We are not washing clothes and using as little water as possible.


----------



## nootka (Dec 4, 2007)

My phones will not dial out. I will, however, try with our cell when we get to town.

The BPA power lines coming into the county (the huge ones that everyone hates to have going through their property) were blown over.

We had 129 mph wind gusts, and multiple ones. This is why so much damage.

I am worried about susanne, too, though I think they are up on a hill and from what I can see, the majority of damage up her way is from flooding.

This is nerve-wracking. I can't even call people in my own county to ask if they're ok and noone can call in. We are fixing to run out of fuel in 48 hours and there is none available here except for dire emergencies such as clearing roads and hospitals and the like.

I may be rationing pretty tightly though we are THINKING about driving to Longview (one lane of Hwy 30 is open that is the only way in and out of the county right now). They couldn't even fix the power lines because there was no way to bring in the poles and cable to do so.

Still haven't found Al, but I know he's out there probably working wayyy too hard.

Everyone else is fine.

I did send the pics to FOx 12 and Katu. Will get some more today. The power poles look like toothpicks. I am just glad we had no damage other than the leak around the chimney, which has stopped.

Liz


----------



## Marylou (Dec 4, 2007)

Can anyone help us. Our Son runs the Coast Guard Station in Depoe Bay Oregon. We have been trying to reach Him and his family since yesterday with no luck. Would really appreciate any info of conditions there.

All in affected area take care.


----------



## R Whiteman (Dec 4, 2007)

Liz,

We were soo very happy to hear that the boat was safely tied to the dock.

In Grays Harbor County we were particularly hard hit for WA state. Winds of 80+ (not just gusts) and 8-12 inches of rain since Sunday night. All schools in the area are cancelled again today. Busses cannot run on unpassable roads. Highways into and out of Grays Harbor County are all either under water or have trees across them. Power has been restored to parts of the county, but others will be without for several more days and there is no guarantee for the rest that their new power will stay on. PUD workers were called back in after 2 fell out of their boom buckets Sunday night when this began. Personally, we are very lucky. We lost a couple of trees and one machine shed, and pastures are under a lot of running surface water. But it is warm. Today I will put the horses out for a while no matter what, as doing chores in the dark is difficult, especially having to work around curious, impatient beasties. Besides the weather today is comparitively mild. Ha! I can see through the rain and the wind is no longer howling. Ron is leaving to help a friend feed his pigs by boat.

Dorothy


----------



## jayne (Dec 4, 2007)

Marylou,

My mom lives near there and she is fine. Power is out and most communication is down too as I read that even long distance phone is out. They got hit really hard, but frankly they are mostly able to handle it, so once they get things cleaned up you'll hear from them. All routes to the coast from the valley are closed due to down trees and power/phone lines and flooding. My mom's senior mobile home park lost almost all of its trees, with some blowing over root-ball and all, but some snapping off like twigs a couple of feet above the ground. Amazing what 100mph winds will do!

There are no reports of deaths or injuries in the area, so please don't worry. It's just they need time to get the infrastructure back in place so people can move around and have power and phone restored.

I can dig some more if you need it. I just imagine that your son is very busy helping with the cleanup and other coast guard things with this wild weather.

Jayne


----------



## nootka (Dec 4, 2007)

Marylou, the phones are so messed up in this region. If you want, you can try and call your National office (I think there should be a website, and see if the CG will give you an update on his unit.)

I have not heard of anything bad happening to anyone on that part of the coast. Most everyone has stayed in and tied to docks, and I have yet to hear of any casualties. I am sorry for not knowing, I know that is hardest of all.

Yes, Ron, the big part of this storm is that the sustained winds were right around 90 mph for hours and hours, probably 24 or more, and the gusts went up to 129 that we know of. THAT is why this was such a bad storm. I wondered how that area was. I had not heard from Kari and yesterday was her birthday....what a bummer, birthday in a power outage.

Knowing her, though, she found a way to make it amazing and fun.






Liz


----------



## Marylou (Dec 4, 2007)

Thank you! He has been there since july. Before that He was running the station in Juneau Alaska so I guess He is used to extreme weather.


----------



## hobbyhorse23 (Dec 4, 2007)

We didn't get that bad of a wind last night and even some sun this morning. My commute was back to thirty minutes instead of almost two hours. My thoughts are with those of you in Gray's Harbor county and northern Oregon!

Susanne was scheduled for eye surgery today so I wouldn't expect to hear from her. She's been having a tough time lately but trying hard to keep her chin up and not talking about it much. (Shh, don't tell her I said anything!)

Leia


----------



## nootka (Dec 4, 2007)

I will check back if I hear anything, but right now we are off to try and go get fuel for the generator and maybe a bit of milk or juice.

Marylou, I am sure your boy is safe, and probably offering support to those that need it now along the coast. Soon the boats will be back on the water, so he will be there for them.





We love the coasties!

Liz


----------



## Equuisize (Dec 4, 2007)

Checking in from a wild and wooly Grays Harbor County......

I echo what Whiteman's reported........it was crazy here.....

We lost 4 ornamental cherry trees, wind just pulled them out by the roots.

Michael caught two more before they pulled out and tied them off with

come alongs to the fence posts..... We lost probably an 80 foot fir at the

driveway.....there are so many huge small tree size branches down,

I think we'll be having a community weinie roast soon, to get rid of them.

The roads around here are scary and as we're new to the area do not

know the ways around the blocked roads - but all the major roads in and out

of here were blocked yesterday....we were being held prisoner in our county LOL

not that we wanted to go anywhere in that weather.....we found a restaurant up

in Elma that was open (Rusty Tractor) and I think the whole town of Montesano

was there eating. They said if delivery trucks couldn't get thru by today, they

wouldn't be feeding anyone as they were about out of supplies.

Power came on during the night sometime so we've lights, heat and water, again, and

can flush the toilets (a vastly underated commodity to daily living




)

Santa is going to have a BIG wish list this year and it's all going to do with generators,

more battery powered lamps and some sort of emergency lighting for the barn, something

to heat food on.

Kids are all safe and sound.....our big guy Graffix sometimes gets antsy in nasty weather

and he stayed as calm as can be......think he was saying silent prayers to his Dad for

getting he and his little people bedrooms built since we came here.

We got a phone call at 6PM last night that our old home and business was going to get

flooded again at 4 AM this morning, which was when they expected the Puyallup to flood

at 4 feet more than last years flood that wiped us out....It did not come to pass, thank God.

The flooded areas, here in Grays Harbor, are horrible.......I told Cheyenne, when I talked with

her yesterday,that we took our camera with us when we went out, to eat, but seeing all the

flooded area, not far, from us was way to emotional....I couldn't take the photos, I just cried....

way to close to the heart and memory.

The difference here is this is, that this is mostly farm land.....I don't know much about the history

of the area, but I think any homes that were in these floodways have been removed and the rivers

flood, mostly just into fields and pasture land.......no people are being endangered, in the areas we saw anyway.

I do not know what we've done to annoy Mother Nature but she has had the Pacific NW in her

sight for a couple years now......this just isn't our kind of weather....especially not two years in a row.

I'm glad to read people and critters are safe........another bullet close but avoided.....Take care!


----------



## Reble (Dec 4, 2007)

Sorry to hear of the rain, here we had roads closed yesterday and this morning, because of snow storms.

Some areas without hydro and icey roads on top of everything. Light snow falling now, and can see out, 20 degrees. :Cold-Scared :Cold-Scared :Cold-Scared Starting to look a lot like Christmas...


----------



## Loren&Rocky (Dec 4, 2007)

We are ok, but trapped. There is no getting in or out where we live. Our low land neighbors are in a terrible spot. Their animals are even worse off. We saw a calf get swept away. It is so bad.

One of our roads to town:







one of our neighbors:






Their horses:






another house:






A beautiful farm, now, not so much






Here are the cows that lost a calf. It was terrible to see






Here is a black hawk trying to get to these people. Their horses are in the driveway with them and there is no where to go











And Loren and David by the waters edge


----------



## Sue S (Dec 4, 2007)

Hope every one will be ok, we have alot of snow here where I live in Wisc. and alot of ice, this afternoon another storm coming in but just suppose to be snow. Will be praying for everyone and keep your little horsees safe.


----------



## Crabby-Chicken (Dec 4, 2007)

Oh man,,,

they have opened a red cross center for people in our town. So awesome. We were really lucky. I DO want to yank out ever huge fir in my yard now though!!!!Hate them things.

Glad everyone is okay. And Susanne we are thinking of you.

Annette glad it has dried out their, and hope the septic clears itself. Mark and Matthew had to dig yesterday to clear a clogged baffle out. It was just absolutely sopping.

My daughters 20th birthday was yesterday and I got a call from her telling me that her Dad and brother were trying to giver her "poop hugs" for her present. Gross. OH!


----------



## mininik (Dec 4, 2007)

Oh... wow. Please stay safe everyone!


----------



## Equuisize (Dec 4, 2007)

Now that we have power, we just watched the news for the first time since Sunday night.

The devastation is unimaginable, once again. Having gone thru it last year, personally,

my mind still does not comprehend such vast damage.

A levy broke in the Centralia/Chehalis area, not to far from Kim, (Crabby Chicken)

and the whole shopping area off Interstate 5 is closed for 20 miles.....totally, I mean totally

flooded out.......they are, like in the photos above, showing helicoptering people off their properties..

They said the the wind gauge in Hoquiam recorded 81 miles an hour winds before the wind

knocked it out and broke it....heaven only knows how high the winds actually got.

So fortunate that more people were not killed or injured.......So many people stranded.

I feel so, for the folks with proerpty damage....as we know from experience the help is not

enough that you ever recover from the losses.....but as long as people are OK - loss of stuff

just isn't the priority.

Hang in there everyone, it's going to be awhile before this mess is cleaned up.


----------



## REO (Dec 4, 2007)

Holy crap!



You all sure had a rough time! I've only been in 100 mph wind and that was bad enough! Very scary! I'm glad you're safe. I hope Suzanne and the others are heard from and safe too.

What a horrid storm! Take care everyone!

Those cows, poor things


----------



## ClickMini (Dec 4, 2007)

All of those poor animals. And to think that Ty and Ben were mad because they had a couple inches in their shelter. I will have to show them those pics and tell them how lucky they are. We live in the river valley but have never had to evac our animals...we are high enough by a couple of feet to stay out of the flood water range (so far!). The problem yesterday was the RAIN...Torrential, and coming down off the hills. The ground was saturated and could not absorb anymore. Even so, it wasn't "terrible" here, just messy. If it ever looked really bad here we could evac to the fairgrounds, that could happen someday I suppose. I have helped others evac there when needed.

I feel so bad for the people and animals who were so flooded yesterday. It was FAR from a typical storm. Places flooded that never have.

I was shopping in Centralia on Sunday, guess their holiday season is over.


----------



## Crabby-Chicken (Dec 4, 2007)

Man, it is terrible. It is hard to comprehend. We are lucky we are dry. But luck really is it.

Nancy, do you know if the fair grounds in Elma has been flooded?

I am hearing and more and more helicopter activity around us. Probably while it is light to see. Poor people and animals.


----------



## Equuisize (Dec 4, 2007)

I don't think so Kim....we ate at the Rustry Tractor yesterday....they had the one door

closest to your FAVORITE latte stand sand bagged. Elma seemed to have power most

places, in the downtown area. They closed the Dennis Company in Elma yesterday

afternoon, they had power but their computers went down. We went to the V & S

store for extra batteries for the flashligts. I think parts of Elma away from the Chehalis

River did OK except for the wind damage, the tree debris on the roads immense. Hiway 12

going from here to your place was a mess, at Elma unless you could swim. It was under water

and I heard on the radio that Porter Creek would probably crest later today so that adds another

area to Hiway 12 that'll be unpasable.... Do you guys have shavings and enough feed for

your kids to get thru till the mess is cleaned up? Don't think unless you know one of the round

a bout ways you'll get down here.....

Maybe Whiteman's will check in later with more info on Elma..... I know Montesano is still

closed down.......My oldest son and grandaughter have birthdays at the end of the week and

I need to get their cards mailed out - should have thought about that yesterday as I could have

mailed them in Elma yesterday.....not going to go out unless we have to now, like if the power went out again or I run out of Coke LOL LOL, till the mess is cleared up.....


----------



## Denise (Dec 4, 2007)

Wow you all are really getting pounded! Those pictures really bring it home. How horrible for the livestock stranded and those homes that are just ruined. Will pray that there is relief in sight for you all soon, very soon.


----------



## Crabby-Chicken (Dec 4, 2007)

Hey Nancy,,, thanks!

I stocked up last week when I heard "snow", didn't think the wind storm would be that bad! Yikes.


----------



## Shari (Dec 4, 2007)

Those are some impressive pictures of the flooding... just hope everyone is ok. We are getting a bit of a break from the rain right now, so I hope it will help get the rivers back to where they are supposed to be quickly.


----------



## RainSong (Dec 4, 2007)

As usual, we didn't get here as hard as everyone else. Only just got 'net back- it went out almost 48 hours ago. We had flickering lights for a day plus, and then last night around 8:30pm our power went out.

Willamina creek was barely below flooding when we ran down the hill to grab supplies and stop in at Joe's (it's a restraunt here) to grab brunch and see what the locals were up to. Yea, we've lived here 7 years but no one knows us- comes from being in the "New" subdivision and being quiet sorts.

Sheridan (next town down) WAS flooded. My mother and brother both got stuck at home- 22 and 18 were both closed. 18 was still closed this morning, but they both got out and to work/school without issue.

Our backyard is under probably an inch to half a foot of water- if we had a basement I have no doubt we'd now have a swimming pool in it. No news on the creek this evening.

Been worrying about everyone else- was really worried about Nootka and her crew. I was SO GLAD to read the boat was safely docked! PHEW.

And hey, our fence stayed in place this time, instead of going to visit the neighbor below us and smushing his gardens...


----------



## Valerie (Dec 4, 2007)

Wow........we are pretty lucky in the Tumwater area.....or my area....but I do know hubby had to go out and his police dive team had to help rescue 37 people from the Rochester (south of us, closer to where the freeway is shut down) due to flooding and that was most of today.....and he just got home around 5 to go to bed for a few hours to go back to work at 9 for his graveyard shift.

The pictures on tv are just amazing.....my heart goes out to all of these people. Kim I am so glad to hear you guys are ok at your place.....I have been worrying & wondering.

I sure wish I could do more, but I have been struck down with Bronchitis & a sinus infection and am just now getting back to a somewhat normal person, whatever that is.

Take care everyone......... let's hope we get a little bit of dry weather.

So very sad.


----------



## nootka (Dec 4, 2007)

It is SUCH A MESS up along I-5. Hard to comprehend when we're so cut off here.

WE cannot get incoming phone calls and outgoing are very limited and only on cells.

THe Ham radio operators are taking and relaying orders for our hospitals....we have one lane coming in to this county to repair all this damage. I see power trucks, stacks of new poles and so much coming in, but it's going to take a LONG time. They are saying now maybe three weeks.

We got gas today, had to wait in line two hours for twenty gallons plus a truckfull of diesel and some for the boat. They are rationing it now and I believe starting to pump some at Fred Meyer and Safeway.

Good luck everyone w/the cleanup.

So far, I have heard of two deaths in Tillamook south of us, one driver in a flood swept away and one heart attack. I feel that is very lucky considering this was the equivalent of a category 3 hurricane, but lasted much longer than they usually do.

Liz


----------



## Marylou (Dec 4, 2007)

Finally got our son this evening. They had some minor damage but nothing serious. No power or phone for 2 days. CG station has no computer use. They said they will be on line by tomorrow sometime. Thanks again for all your help earlier.


----------



## R Whiteman (Dec 4, 2007)

Kim,

No water damage at the fairgrounds in Elma. It is on high ground. But metal roof sections peeled off a couple of the barns. We are out of school another day tomorrow. I'm sure that they are anticipating the high water that should reach us in the next 12 hours or so. Also the road is still closed at Porter due to mud slides. We got out to Olympia today. This morning we had to detour around the massive mud near Summit Lake on highway 8. Saw first hand the destruction to the Ranch Kitchen Barbecue restaurant that has been featured on the national news. Parts of the restaurant traveled across two lanes of freeway to rest in the median. Horrible!!

Some roads are opening back up, but all of West county is still out of power and maybe for the rest of the week due to the destruction of a main Bonneville Power line.

Life's an adventure, isn't it??

Dorothy


----------



## MooreAcres (Dec 5, 2007)

Checking in here from the Portland area in Oregon.

All is fine, no major damage as far as I know of. Susanne is fine, saw her last night. As is Marie and myself. Not sure about Daryl, but I'm sure he is safe and sound. Luckily we all live on fairly high ground, well not Marie, so didn't get much flooding. Mostly just trees down and ALOT of rain. Got a break today and actually saw a bit of sunshine. Hopefully this mess is behind us all.

Wishing you all the best and hoping the weather didn't take too much of a toll on anyone.

Erin


----------



## nootka (Dec 5, 2007)

The line for gasoline at the Olney store which is three miles down the road from us. Not many stations have these old style pumps anymore. We were able to get twenty gallons of gasoline and unlimited diesel, enough to fill our truck and several cans to take to the boat. My son Kenny's in the striped shirt...it took an hour or more to get through the line and more people were coming from all over to get this precious resource.






Hwy 202 near Tidepoint restaurant. All of the power poles were blown over, the insulators smashed to powder and the lines tangled in snarls. The road was closed but we had no way else around or over the hill so we had to weave in and out of the downed lines and poles over the road so we could make it to town.






This was one of our neighbor's driveways. You can see the mailboxes somewhere in the jumble of trees. Many of these trees were well over a hundred feet.






Hwy 202 near Tidepoint again, looking towards Astoria again. You can see many of the poles on the right side of the road. These were on the left side of the road right along the bay.

Today some of these had already been replaced by the power crews. these guys are real heroes....

Liz


----------



## susanne (Dec 5, 2007)

I'm sorry to have taken so long to check in...but between weather, surgeries, and an attempted evaccuation, things have been a bit crazy!

My cataract surgery went well today...it was over before I had barely begun with Mingus stories...

We were unbelievably lucky up here in our hills. We had some strong wind gusts Sunday, so I decided to move the horses down to a friend's boarding stable. Well...we started with Mingus, figuring the others would be more comfortable once they saw he was there. (we have a single horse trailer, so it was one horse at a time). We got him settled in, headed home for the next evaccuee. Our driveway has limited turning room, and unfortunately turning the trailer means backing onto the grass...fine in good weather, but disastrous in a deluge.

So you guessed it -- we got thoroughly stuck. By now it was getting dark, and the wind had stopped. It looked as if we had overacted, so we decided to let Mingus enjoy his night at the fancy horse hotel on his own. We drove the little car over to feed him, tucked the rest into bed here at home, and went in to strip off our soaked clothing.

Midway through Desperate Housewives' tornado episode, the winds came back up and our electricity went out. What irony. I went out several times to check on the horses, where the rain was a veritable monsoon.

Our PUD workers got our power back up at around 3 am, the winds calmed back down (we're in a strange pocket here...most of the big winds seem to miss us) and the horses were just fine.

So here we are with mud pits for corrals (Mingus was happy to get to dry out!), but not even any branches down.

Just a couple of miles up the road, the town of Vernonia has been devastated by flooding and fallen trees...many people were airlifted from their homes by the National Guard (what few are left here in country).

I've kept my computer off for the most part just in case of more outtages, but now everybody is home.

I've spoken to Daryl, and he and his horses and dogs are doing great. Marie is down in the flatlands and her corrals are totally saturated, but she and her horses and dogs are all doing well.

I'm so glad everyone is safe! Thank you all so much for your concern!


----------



## Shari (Dec 5, 2007)

Is good to hear from you Susanne and very glad everyone is ok!


----------



## nootka (Dec 5, 2007)

It's good to hear from you susanne, I hope you continue to stay safe.

Vernonia looks awful, what a MESS!!!

Martin wanted to go to Longview today, but I dont' think I want to from what I've heard from our friend in the east part of the county.

Take care...

Liz


----------



## Equuisize (Dec 5, 2007)

There's Susanne! Glad to hear you are all OK.

Michael headed up to Olympia, to a grocery store and stopped at the

latte stand he enjoys. He says so much has changed,

for the worse, since we last were out on Monday.

The water is up to the freeway (hiway 12) and so much

more has gone under water....

This was certainly a storm of epic proportions and it

will be a long time before this is cleaned up.

Our PUD reported there was still 27,000 people without

power in Grays Harbor County.

Actually Michael just called while I was typing this and said

the hiway to Olympia was open and the grocery store was

full of food.

The Ranch Restaurant they spoke about on the National news

is a sad sight, he said. The dining room was swept away.

Only problem on the road was a shavings semi had flipped on the

exit of hiway 8 and hiway 12 but he's hoping that will be cleaned

up by the time he arrives at that portion of the road. Said he

wished he taken the truck as they were scooping the dumped shavings

into trucks and we're low




after keeping the kids stalled for

3 days.....

And it's not raining and that is the good news!!!


----------



## Crabby-Chicken (Dec 5, 2007)

Hey Has Rori checked in???I hope I just missed her post.


----------



## nootka (Dec 5, 2007)

I went out to visit some friends today since I was so bored after Martin left to go fishing.

I came back and my Miniature Horse World was in my mail box..finally!!!!the Oct/Nov edition which took over two months to get to me. It is beautiful, though, and I will enjoy it later while riding my exercise bike when the darkness comes and the cold is settling in.

Making pot stickers in the basement on the old cookstove (we made bread in the little oven last night...just like my great grandma did on the plains of KS...whoohoo I'm a real frontier woman now).

L.


----------



## Shari (Dec 5, 2007)

That sounds really good Liz!

We were supposed to go to the military base this weekend...but with I-5 still closed... not going to happen. Pictures are impressive on the TV and scary.


----------



## Lynne360 (Dec 5, 2007)

Hi All,

I finally have my internet connection back on.

Nancy,

I am so thankful that you guys are OK. Mike and I were really worried after seeing all the reports of the Elma area. Not too bad here, just downed trees and lots of standing water.

Take care,

Lynne


----------



## Bluerocket (Dec 6, 2007)

Glad to hear you folk are ok --- pretty amazing pictures --


----------



## Equuisize (Dec 6, 2007)

Fortunately those of us that have checked in are in fairly good shape.

It's the ones that are in the flooded out areas that need our prayers.

Anything you see on National TV multiply a 1000 times, to make

it equal to what it looks like in real time.

It hurts my heart for the thousands of people affected.

Oh I've also heard from Jim Guerin in Yelm and he's OK, too.

Anyone heard from Tracy at Flying G in Eatonville And her family

Country Rose in Tacoma area.......

We'll hope they are OK..seems some areas escaped without much problem.


----------



## MountainMeadows (Dec 6, 2007)

Tracy, Vince & all the critters are OK - not sure about her folks - LOTS of mud tho!

I too am wondering how Rori is doing - she is smack dab in the middle of all of it also.

Stacy


----------



## Equuisize (Dec 6, 2007)

Hay Kari, I see you are on..How's things down in Raymond......????

You guys all safe?

If someone knows where Rory is or knows contact info - Michael

and I would go check on her..... We are happy to help anyone...

so many helped us out last year when we were flooded out.

There are still roads blocked..... If any of you know Bev Smith

of Rocky Butte Ranch that relocated here from Eastern Washington,

they are OK, they got power this morning. We were plenty worried as

they were to head this way for showers and never showed up....their

phones went out and their cells died.....she has her 93 year old Mom

that lives with them but they are fine just locked in by water over the

roadways, even though they live high on a hill.


----------



## Kari (Dec 6, 2007)

I'll never take light and heat for granted again. Three and a half days without either.... *shudder*

We're ok.

When you have 10 acres of trees, wind gusts of 100 MPH are NOT good. It sounded as if the world was being ripped apart around us the entire night of Dec. 2nd. And really, it was. We woke to devastation. Approx. 40 of our trees were down, some uprooted but most broke in half like they were toothpicks. Every fence on our place, save ONE, has trees on it. My brother had to take the chainsaw and clear a path so our neighbors could get down the hill (we live at the bottom of a hill, with our trees behind us and bordering the road). A BIG thanks to God, though, as none of our trees fell on important buildings or any animals. The horses were locked up in the barn, the dogs and cats in the house. Many other people had it much worse.

Anyone who had trees on their property had trees down. Some had trees on their roofs, some have NO roof. There was massive flooding, windows blown out, water damage galore, deaths, and many roads closed due to mudslides, bridges being out, and power poles and/or trees across the road and/or water deep enough to swim in. And this is just how Pacific County fared. Neighboring counties, such as Lewis and Grays Harbor had it much worse.

From Dec. 2nd to the 5th we (along with everyone else in our community) had no power. Some still don't. There were trees on virtually all the power lines. Instead of the delicious lasagna, garlic bread, and salad my mother and brothers were making for dinner on my birthday (the 3rd) we grilled burgers and played Chickenfoot. We had no heat, either!! In the dead of winter!! We HAD a fireplace, emphasis on had, as we took it out to replace it in August and it’s still being worked on. So, I probably drank more alcohol over those four days then I have in the past year. Strictly to keep warm, you understand. That’s the only reason. Really.

Perhaps the worst part of it all was how we were so completely cut off from the world. All the roads in and out of Raymond were closed for at least 24 hours. Some were able to get to Olympia and Portland by the 4th, but they had to take detours far out of their way. We saw quite a few helicopters on the 4th, also, and rumor was it was the National Guard and the Governor of WA, bringing generators, help, and declaring us a Disaster Area. We hooked up a landline, and were able to make and receive local calls most of the time. Our cell phones sometimes worked, usually not. I found, however, that text messages could get through most of the time. Yipee!!! So, I made sure some friends around the NW were okay.

So glad others have made it ok, but I'm worried about Rori!!!!!!

Kari


----------



## Flyin G Farm (Dec 6, 2007)

I'm so glad to hear everyone is doing OK...well...at least as good as can be expected. We were very fortunate and just have a lot of water...and now mud. We don't have many trees actually on our property so we were OK there...the horses are all fine. Country Rose (my MIL) is fine as well...same thing...lots of water/mud but all of the horses are just fine.

If anyone needs any help with anything...we're only about 45 minutes or so from where I-5 is shut down...let us know!

Tracy


----------



## MountainMeadows (Dec 6, 2007)

Wow Kari - that is so scary - we had it last year - lost a bunch of trees and like you said, they just snapped in 2 - some actually got twisted like it was a tornado or something. I am really glad that we used New Zealand fencing on most of our perimeter and some of our interior fences because all we needed to do was cut the part of the tree off that was on the fence and it popped back into place. Of course when the trees to come down at our place it is ALWAYS on a gate OH! ! We were out of power for over 2 weeks and a LONG hot shower really felt good when we were finally able to get one - those quickie baths from water heated up on the woodstove are pretty marginal! Our generator crapped out about midway, but we were lucky and were able to borrow one - but we really need to get it replaced before this year's seasonal blackouts.

Anyway, glad that you are all OK - lots of work ahead of you - I can so relate





Stacy


----------



## Crabby-Chicken (Dec 6, 2007)

Yes I am still worried about Rory... I am not sure where she lives, isn't it in Porter?

Dorthy or Nancy,,,, how is the little feed store in Elma on 2nd street??? They are such nice people. Hope all is well.


----------



## Equuisize (Dec 6, 2007)

Kim,

We haven't been back up to downtown Elma for a couple days but the downtown was fine.

I think Ron, at the feed store, should be fine....it's away from the river.

Del's here in Montesano had water up to their back wall facing the freeway.

Now if Rori is in Porter that could be a problem......the latest weather update I got this AM extended the flood warnings for the Porter area thru late this afternoon....The problem being a high incoming tide was going to slow down the drainage... To be optimistic, there are lots hilly areas around there. We looked at some property there this summer before settling on where we are at, now.

Loren & Rocky have not checked back in either since the flooded area increased.....anyone know about them?


----------



## Kari (Dec 6, 2007)

Some pictures from around Raymond...






My grandma's house.. some of the windows are blown out, too.






We had to drive under that in order to get to town. It stayed like that for about 32 hours, as there were many more important things to be done.






One corner of one of my poor fields.










Didn't need that building anyway........

Kari


----------



## nootka (Dec 6, 2007)

Wow, Kari, I know some of those places you posted pics of. Glad you are all ok and merely have some cleaning up to do.

Same here.

It's a real mess around here w/the winds.

It went on for about 48 hours, and just now the roads are open into the inland areas to get supplies in here.

Your 3.5 days...pffttt...we did 6 days last year right before Christmas, and this year, I think we'll be lucky to have power in two weeks, because the damage is much more widespread and more intense this time around.

I do hope Rori checks in. I don't even think I have phone numbers anywhere to get ahold of her.

Liz


----------



## Kari (Dec 6, 2007)

Ick... my heart goes out to all those still without power.

My uncle and a friend went to Portland on a generator-buying trip, but before he returned we had power!

Kari


----------



## R Whiteman (Dec 6, 2007)

Ron just called Rory. She lives way up Porter Creek, well away from the floodwaters of the Chehalis. They are fine, but hadn't telephone until this morning. They are still without power. They were isolated by mud slides on Hwy 12 since that is the only way into town unless you go overland and then you deal with downed trees, but traffic is able to get through now at least on one lane.

Tonight we had dinner with the National Guard at the Rusty Tractor. It is odd, but comforting to have their presence here. We've had floods before, but having the Guard around in such large numbers is a testament to how damaging this storm was. That and the fact that 25,000 people in the county are still without power and the schools are closed again tomorrow for the fifth day.

Kim, the feed store is open and doing well. We picked up grain today. They were worried about the big trucks that deliver to them, but just before we arrived, their shipment came in from the south. Life and business goes on.

Dorothy


----------



## Crabby-Chicken (Dec 7, 2007)

Dorthy,,,

So true life goes on,, so glad to hear that everyone seems to be okay in that area. Thanks for the updates!!!!!


----------



## ChrystalPaths (Dec 7, 2007)

I have an update from runamuck...she hasn't had power for 7 days. She called me today to say they are fine if a bit stinky with no hot water for a proper bath but they have a camp stove and wood heat. The huge cedar out front came down and powerlines are everywhere but they are putting her off for now. I feel badly and hope they get her some power soon. My prayers and light (no pun intended) come across miles.


----------



## susanne (Dec 7, 2007)

I'm so glad that Rori and family are safe! Does anyone have a phone number for Shelley (Loren&Rocky)?

Anyone else who hasn't checked in?


----------



## nootka (Dec 8, 2007)

So happy to hear from Rori even secondhand!

Thanks to you with the update.

We are still without power, we do have most phone capabilities though some features are not working, yet.

Tonight while the line workers were setting a new pole, they drilled through the water line feeding our area. The water was out for a few hours. Now that it's on, it is a dark brown and full of mud.

Martin's been out fishing a few times, and delivered a few small loads of crab. The man who crushed his hand at the beginning of the season had been fishing, but has now developed a blood infection and ordered off the boat w/IV meds to combat the infection.

A friend from Alaska was in Westport, WA, and came down to fish w/him. Martin had not seen Cooper in 6 years or more, but there he was, tonight, to go fishing in a pinch. He HAD been on his way back to Cordova to be with his pregnant girlfriend for Christmas, but is doing this as a favor for Martin. They had a lot of fun catching up, and his friend Joe may come back as permanent though he's a greenhorn (Joe drove Cooper down from Westport, WA). They said on their way down, they really got a feel for how bad the storm was.

I do hope the power comes back tomorrow. I took a shower at my son's girlfriend's house, did one load of laundry there and one load at my friend Bill's house (at least I could Christmas shop while I was there!).

If it's not back, tomorrow will be a day of laundry in town, also getting fuel for the generator and truck (the first time I've felt the need to since Tuesday.)....

It sure could be worse!!!!

Liz


----------



## Crabby-Chicken (Dec 8, 2007)

Oh my Gosh Liz....

You guys are welcome to come down here and stay! The accomodations are sketchy at best! But you sure are welcome to what we have. You could even cuddle an obese cat or geriatric chicken to keep extra warm! Or even a houdini red horse are pretty warm and hairy this time of the year. And we seem to have flushing toilets and heat right now!


----------



## Equuisize (Dec 8, 2007)

I've got room for anyone needing a place to put their head,

get warm showers, and some warm food, too.

The PUD said this morning there are still 3,000 without power as

pf 8:30 this morning. They've made great strides but I am sure

those 3,000 are pretty tired of this right now.

I know the neighboring streets around us still have no power and

the streets are only as passable as the residents have made them.

It was very brrrrrr here last night, everything is still covered with frost.

It is bright and beautiful though so hopefully that will lift some spirits.

I'm still thinking of Loren & Rocky and hope they can report in soon.


----------



## nootka (Dec 8, 2007)

Thanks, Kim!!!

Now I'm somewhat worried that if I'm not here to keep the house sort of warm w/a fire, the pipes might freeze.

The water seems to have cleared overnight, and it is ice cold coming out of there right now.

You guys are sweet to offer, but with Martin fishing out of here, it's a pita to have to think about being anywhere BUT here, even with the discomfort.

I am going to get a tree today, I am going to finish some Christmas shopping, and I'm going to get another shower come heck or high water (better watch what I wish for, hadn't I?)....oh, and I'm going to wash those nasty fish clothes from when Kenny went out w/Martin on the boat.

Good luck to the rest of us awaiting the return of the juice.

L.


----------



## MInx (Dec 8, 2007)

*Yes, best of luck to you all out there! Wish I could think of something to help and like you worried about Loren and Rocky et al.*

Will be watching to see them check in..I'm saying they are fine just without power.






Maxine


----------



## nootka (Dec 8, 2007)

We got our power back today around 3 or 4 pm. I am SO THANKFUL and SO GRATEFUL to the crews that have worked overtime around the clock to get this done. Last year, after a storm a third this bad, we were without for 6 days. This year, even though the damage was much more widespread, much more intense, we were only without for half a day longer than that. Luckily, I knew exactly how long it could be, and was prepared.

Even with the water incident last night, I am just in awe of the way these crews have progressed through this job and to see them alongside the road as we pass them on the way into town, they are all smiling, waving and working as they do so.

I hope they can hurry home to their families now (many of them are from states as far away as Montana). Surely they must miss them a lot.

Hope SHellie checks in.

Liz


----------



## gimp (Dec 8, 2007)

It looks like Loren & Rocky are OK; she just posted on another thread.


----------



## Loren&Rocky (Dec 8, 2007)

Loren&Rocky said:


> We are ok, but trapped. There is no getting in or out where we live. Our low land neighbors are in a terrible spot. Their animals are even worse off. We saw a calf get swept away. It is so bad.
> 
> One of our roads to town:
> 
> ...


HERE I AM!!!



so glad someone was thinking of me!!

Yes, I posted earlier on page 5. I put up these pictures.

Thaks for asking!! We are fine.


----------



## runamuk (Dec 11, 2007)

HEY all did ya miss me





I finally have power again....we also are in grays harbor county in WA........our power went down in the wee morning hours on monday the 3rd and they finally brought every power truck in the county last night to hang our 2 lines back up and replace the transformer.......

We can sort of get in and out, requires creative driving as our long easement/drive is mostly washed out, much of it is still in the county road as I do not have a tractor......

All in all it wasn't too bad we suffered little damage, and the main suffering was 2 kids out of school for a week in a house without electricity











well back to washing laundry and cleaning up this pig sty OH!


----------



## Kari (Dec 11, 2007)

Glad you're ok, Rori!

I can relate w/ the kids and no electricity.. my little brother had four friends here much of the time.



FIVE TEENAGERS.

Was a truly memorable 25th birthday for me....

Kari


----------



## runamuk (Dec 11, 2007)

Kari said:


> Glad you're ok, Rori!
> 
> I can relate w/ the kids and no electricity.. my little brother had four friends here much of the time.
> 
> ...






YIKES

I only had a 16, and 11 year old (so a teen and a tween) the first few days (mon- late thurs afternoon) were the worst as we had NO PHONE



horror of horrors for a teen OH!

Did anyone realize that go-fish is a full contact card game OH!


----------



## hhpminis (Dec 11, 2007)

"Did anyone realize that go-fish is a full contact card game"

HAHA, yes in fact, I have played it. Along with spoons, booyah, UNO, war, slap jack, and several other card games that seem to always lead to at least one person flying over the table or whatever piece of furniture is unfortunate enough to be the playing surface. We put the bandaids on the table as bleeding on the cards is a form of marking them. HAHA

Glad you all are OK and getting power back on. Always nice to lose power in the winter. It does kinda make you feel close though. Makes for creative meals and entertainment.

We are still fighting our septic system. We fear that the drain field is ruined. We will be digging it up in the next day or so. Meanwhile, we only use the amount of water that is absolutely necessary. It is always somehting isn't it?


----------



## susanne (Dec 11, 2007)

Rori, it's great to have you back!

I hereby nominate Kari as suffering the worst! Although if this brother is at all like your other brother that I met (I assume this is a different brother), I bet he and his friends are great guys!

I'm so glad everyone is getting their power back...now that it's getting cold again. My fingers are frozen!

Liz, I hope you made it in to Longview...I just heard thaht Hwy 30 is closed at Clatskanie due to a mudslide.


----------



## Kari (Dec 11, 2007)

Anyone ever play the card game Killer? It was created in Juvie. 'Nuff said.

Susanne, was it Danny you met? He's my little brother, and he IS a good kid, it's just teenagers can be so............. everything!!!!! I can't think of anytime you could've met Chris, my older bro.

Kari


----------



## LindaL (Dec 11, 2007)

Just a heads up that Hwy 30 is closed about 5 miles from Clatskanie due to a massive mudslide....Just happened today (Monday) and the hwy will be closed for quite a long time...Its a HUGE mess!!!!!


----------



## nootka (Dec 13, 2007)

Ugh that mudslide is really cramping my style.

We had to go buy feed and building supplies and had to wait for the ferry the first day. Today Martin and Cooper are going to Longview to get supplies to add onto the back porch.

I hope they reopen that soon. A friend of ours used to live right above where that slide came down.

What a mess!

Liz


----------

