Rising flood waters from the Cowlitz River creep up to the back porch of Diana Thornton's trailer on Wednesday afternoon along Burton Creek Road west of Packwood.
This week’s flooding of East Lewis County represents the worst disaster that area has seen since the devastating floods of 2006, Sheriff Rob Snaza said Thursday morning.
The sheriff told The Chronicle this morning he’s relieved early forecasts for record flooding on the Newaukum River and major flooding on the Skookumchuck didn’t come to fruition, even as the Chehalis River continued to climb.
Had the worst predictions been realized, the region could have seen a disaster on par with the devastating floods of 2007, he said.
“That was a huge relief for us. We dodged a big one,” Snaza said. “When you have flooding on east end and then the west end, we were prepared to divert resources if necessary. That would have had a huge impact. We were prepared for it, but with the rivers going down, it’s a huge sigh of relief.”
The Cowlitz River crested Wednesday in Randle about a foot below its record after earlier coursing through neighborhoods in Packwood. All other rivers, with the exception of the Chehalis, were dropping in depth.
Rescues and evacuations stretched into Wednesday afternoon, a day after several local governments declared emergencies in the face of dire warnings from the National Weather Service.
Snaza plans to visit the High Valley area of Packwood, Cispus Road in Randle and other East Lewis County areas devastated by flooding this afternoon.
“The main concerns I have is the loss of homes,” he said.
The county’s Emergency Operations Center will likely close this afternoon, he said, but the response is far from the recovery phase.
“To hear about this many displaced homes is something we haven’t seen in a long time,” Snaza said.
A new bout of rain arrived this morning, and more is in the forecast. The sheriff said he’s concerned at the thought of additional rainfall, but early predictions are that it won’t bring a repeat in terms of destructive flooding.
He said landslides on U.S. Highway 12 and high, fast-running streams continue to be a concern.
Wednesday afternoon brought sunshine and a feeling that the worst was over, but persistent flooding kept major roads closed throughout the county.
As of Thursday morning, closures remained on state Route 6 near Adna, Kresky Avenue in Centralia, U.S. Highway 12 in Randle and in many other areas across the county.
Snaza said his office will continue monitoring flood-damaged homes to prevent looting and vandalism, which occurred in West Lewis County in 2007.
He encouraged residents who have faced damage from the floods to report it in case the disaster qualifies for federal aid.
Residents of unincorporated Lewis County and all cities except Centralia should call (360) 740-1152. Damage in the city limits of Centralia should be reported to (360) 623-8283.
