An unusual number of people packed themselves into the Packwood Community Hall this week as the Lewis County Board of Commissioners convened a special meeting to honor county residents that responded to the December flooding in East Lewis County.
Commissioner Scott Brummer, who represents the area as the county’s District 3 representative, and Packwood Improvement Club Chair Ron Blankenship opened up the Monday evening event starting at 6 p.m. Commissioners Lindsey Pollock and Sean Swope also made the trip, and all three members of the Lewis County Board of Commissioners recognized distinguished members of the community.
In total, the county recognized 14 individuals, businesses or organizations that responded to the east county flooding in different ways. Some individuals were recognized more than once serving with multiple groups that helped out during the natural disaster.
Lewis County Emergency Management Director Erika Katt first recognized three groups of first responders and two local groups that provided shelter or lodging to those fleeing their homes temporarily.
Among the first responders Katt recognized was the Lewis County Swift Water Rescue team, which was well documented by The Chronicle as they rescued two individuals in Randle. She also recognized the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office for their response and the aid provided to locals by Lewis County Fire District 14, commonly known as Randle Fire & EMS.
“When the flood waters created disastrous conditions, the Swift Water Rescue Team answered the call working long hours in this cold, hazardous environment,” Katt said. “Their skill, dedication and willingness to step into harm's way helped save lives.”
For those that helped shelter community members, Katt called up representatives for both the Packwood Inn and the Packwood Senior Center for offering rooms, beds and even parking spaces for RVs to community members evacuating homes on the banks of the Cowlitz River.
Community Development Director Mindy Brooks, a member of the East Lewis County community herself, took front and center to recognize a list of Packwood community members that helped with flood response. She recognized Blankenship and his wife Jeanette Blankenship, who are both longstanding members of the community and bring their own experience and involvement with the Packwood Improvement Club and local search and rescue.
In the first days of the flooding, the couple operated the Packwood Community Hall as a shelter with the approval and support of the Packwood Improvement Club, before the arrival of the Red Cross.
“These guys opened this as a shelter,” Brooks said. “They stayed the night here, along with their family and a lot of other people, so that there'd be a place for people to stay for those first few days.”
Brooks also recognized Packwood Search and Rescue, which includes the Blankenships, Lewis County Fire District 10, also known as the Packwood Fire District and Commerce Meadows LLC, led by Joel Stirling and Dave Campos, which owns the old Packwood mill property, The company allowed the county to use the property for flood cleanup in the weeks following the disaster.
Public Works Director Geoff Soderquist recognized the county’s Area Seven maintenance crew. Lewis County Public Health and Social Services senior community outreach worker Kirstine Ward recognized both the Salvation Army of Centralia and United Way of Lewis County.
The Salvation Army responded nearly immediately to the flooding, helping coordinate housing support and provide other resources. The United Way mobilized flood funds that went to those most in need when the disaster hit.
“Every dollar donated went straight to families with the greatest needs, helping them access timely financial support and begin the process of recovery,” Ward said.
Finally, Brummer recognized Elliot Johnson, a habitat biologist with the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife, who helped approve work permits for a local community to begin emergency construction of a rock berm to protect homes from rising waters.
“I heard a rumor that there were drawings in the mud,” Brummer said. “That’s how we came up with the plan to protect … well over 20 homes that were protected by the emergency action that was taken.”
Brummer also gave a brief nod to Greg Pelland in the crowd, the contractor who mobilized crews to help construct the bank on an emergency basis.
As flood waters rose in early December 2025, the growing Cowlitz River filled one high valley community with water and seeped into the basements of homes in another. For previous reporting by The Chronicle on the race to protect Packwood homes from the river, visit https://tinyurl.com/2jtxn9zz.
