Survived hurricane-force winds of 119 mph, infrastructure collapse Pacific County, Washington coast, December 2007 Pacific Northwest storm

More on page on this website (see tabs above) dedicated to ‘Storm of the Decade, Pacific Northwest, December 2007′

Today is Friday, Dec 7, 2007 and we just got power back yesterday, Thursday, Dec 6, 2007, after being without power, communications, access in or out of the county since the storm hit last Sunday, Dec 2, 2007. It was what it was advertised by the Chinook Observer to be – the storm of the decade and it affected most all of Washington coastline with grave flooding inland and great parts of Oregon coastline. Most hard hit with massive flooding was Lewis County and Grays Harbor County, our neighboring counties. Pacific County was hit hard too, enough to collapse a seemingly fragile infrastructure; no power, no land phones, no cell phones, no 911, no access in or out of the county and even emergency communications out of county to notify status were limited and curtailed. It was an eerie feeling to be so completely cut off.

Later as the week wore on the reality of not being able to access our own bank account or get gas as gas pumps need electricity to work, and word of possible contamination of water in South Bend/Raymond, the fragility of the infrastructure not only in our own county but any county became evident to me. We must learn to rely on individual preparedness, and preparedness and help from among our community to see us through those early days of catastrophic weather events. And given what we experienced with this storm, I’m inclined to believe that with climate warming, we will see other such storms, perhaps not at that magnitude, but enough to cause breaks in the infrastructure here in Pacific County and in neighboring counties.

Sorting out how to tell parts of the story, and rather than one big fat blog entry, I will want to break it down some. For the days without power and communications (phones, cell phones, 911, emergency access), I started a journal. Now that we have power back and I am seeing via internet news all the devastation around us in our own county and neighboring counties, I recognize we are among the very fortunate.

Providing the link to the Washblog interview Noemie did with me when she phoned me yesterday to check up on us where she gives an account of what I shared with her.

Report from Lietta Ruger: Storm Causes Complete Infrastructure Collapse in Pacific Co.

By noemie maxwell
Thu Dec 06, 2007 at 03:37:50 PM PST
Section: Pacific County Topic: Climate Change

I just spoke with Lietta Ruger, one of Washblog’s editors, and she asked me to post a little summary of our conversation. She plans to post something more in-depth later.

She and Arthur Ruger live in the Willapa Bay community in Bay Center. There is no locally owned broadcast media in the area, and so they rely primarily on King 5 TV for their storm warnings. KIRO and KOMO generally don’t provide coverage on their area. She said that no warnings came through mainstream media on the severe impacts that their community was expected to face from the impending storm last weekend. It was only because they happen to subscribe to what she describes as a tiny newspaper, a weekly called The Chinook Observer, that she learned her community was facing perhaps “the storm of the decade.”

Having received this one warning, she and Arthur brought out their candles and blankets and cooked up the food in their refrigerator and battened down the hatches – just in case. The storm hit on Sunday and the three of them – including Lietta’s mother – stayed indoors for two days as winds up to 119 miles an hour raged outside. There was no electricity, no phone service, no cellphone service. After the storm subsided, the roads were so impassible in every direction, and the power outage and the lack of emergency service so complete — that as far as people in her community knew, they might have separated from the rest of the United States and floated off into the Pacific Ocean.

It wasn’t until yesterday that a local store selling crank radios opened and she and Arthur were able to tune into coverage from Astoria, Oregon to find out the extent of the damage to the rest of Washington state.

Even then, most of the stores remained locked, the social services office, where emergency help is usually offered, remained closed and dark. The gas pumps, which run on electricity, don’t work. People who have medical emergencies are out of luck. And at least one woman did die, when her house caught on fire from the candles she was using to provide light.

There was no safe way to travel by water, either, because the water was moving too fast and there were too many other dangers, low tree branches, objects, etc. Even the county’s weather monitoring equipment failed. We know that winds reached 119 mph in Bay Center and 120 mph in Astoria, she said, because private citizens had equipment that withstood the wind, while the wind broke the county’s equipment.

The problem wasn’t with community members. People helped each other quite a bit. In fact, the owner of the Bay Center grocery store, a woman named Lori, drove from Long Beach through all the hazards to Bay Center and fired up the generator and stove and cooked soups and made sandwiches to serve the people in that community. And her husband and son did that in the other grocery stores owned by the family in other nearby communities. But now that the electricity has come back on, and she’s learned that the rest of the world is still here — though Grays Harbon and Lewis Counties appear to have suffered even more — now she’s feeling pretty upset.

This is a warning, she said, that we need to get our act together on emergency preparedness. We are experiencing the effects of climate change and we can expect more. This kind of storm is not on the usual scale. It’s a clear signal, as well, that we need some major changes in how we do media. Pacific County needs its own broadcast media. We talked for awhile about testimony at the recent FCC hearing in Seattle that local communities are endangered by the centralization of broadcast media. That is absolutely correct, she said. Now that she has a little time to think, it’s hitting her, the extent of this collapse of infrastructure: the lack of emergency preparedness and media coverage and the blackout on all services during the storm or for the 2 days afterwards. “This complete and utter failure, she said, “is unacceptable.

(read more at the Washblog story)

A few photos below taken by my mother of Bay Center in Pacific County, after the 2 days

of hurricane-force winds. Click on photos to see larger view.

Downed treee on Bay Center Road, Bay Center, WA in Pacific County, WA

Several downed trees at Bay Center residence, Bay Center, WA in Pacific County,WA

Tree down on power line Bay Center Road,Bay Center, WA in Pacific County,WA

Blow down trees in the county park at tip of Bay Center, WA in Pacific County,WA

More on page on this website (see tabs above) dedicated to ‘Storm of the Decade, Pacific Northwest, December 2007’

Seeing Pink in Pacific County

I had a dental appointment in ‘town’ yesterday.  That means a drive from Bay Center to South Bend or Raymond.  Sometimes it means a drive to the ‘city’ and that could be Aberdeen or Astoria.  So I was headed for Raymond yesterday and encountered pink everywhere I went, it seemed.  What’s up with the pink, I wondered, but rather guessed it had something to do with supporting breast cancer awareness.   And sure enough, when I finished with the dentist (or better said, when he finished working me over – my teeth, that is) I stopped by the pharmacy in South Bend to get a prescription filled.

Some of the Raymond steel statues are decked out in pink.  As I drive by Bud’s Lumber – you know the pervue of masculine endeavors, their front displays are wrapped in pink, their trees are wrapped in pink.  Pink ribbons on lawn and yard equipment.

So when I do arrive at the South Bend Pharmacy, and enter the store , I find pink everywhere, gift items, angel stones, pink ribbons, and even pink flamingos.  And that is where I asked my question and got the answer I thought I would get – breast cancer awareness.   Ahh, this community can be so spirited about some things, I think to myself, and in a good way.  Here is something they can do to raise funds to help local people fighting the cancer battle.  Here is where they can make a difference at a level they can touch and feel and know they have done something that counts, is measureable.

I’ve seen the communities do collective fundraisers before to help an individual family or child who encounters severe medical challenges.  I remember thinking then how proud I was to join a community who could champion local families this way.

And this morning, I see that the Pink of Pacific County is an article in the Aberdeen Daily World

Pacific County towns going pink for breast cancer

The sea of pink that will cover South Bend, Raymond, Menlo and Lebam starting today is part of the Willapa Harbor Helping Hands’ second “Paint the Towns Pink” celebration that is held in conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The community celebration runs until Oct. 20 with the aim of promoting breast cancer awareness and raising money for Willapa Harbor Helping Hands, a non-profit organization formed in 2004 to financially assist North Pacific County cancer patients. The group helps with expenses such as pharmacy bills, gas to drive to appointments and house payments.

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If businesses see a Pink Panther sandwich board and a flock of flamingos outside their door this week, they have been “flamingoed” and must donate $25 to have the items moved to another business, where the game will start again. Businesses can call 875-5757 or Suzie Zakel at 942-6101 to have the items moved.

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If you have questions or need ideas on how you can participate in Paint the Towns Pink week, call Halpin at 942-5471 or the Willapa Harbor Helping Hands office at 875-5550.