Some Packwood residents returned to their homes Thursday afternoon, Dec. 11, to find them soaked, their yards littered with debris and two neighboring houses close to slipping into the river.
Flood water from the Cowlitz River in Packwood began to recede Thursday after the peak of the high water event hit early Wednesday morning. According to the local fire district, more than 60 people were rescued in recent days, with some seeking help at a local temporary shelter.
No fatalities have been reported and, so far, no homes have been lost. Staff of the local fire district and others who participated in efforts to respond to the flood said the event was less intense than it could have been.
The flooding in and around Packwood and Randle hit hardest at the Cascade Peaks Family Campground situated between Packwood and Randle and the High Valley neighborhoods along Cannon Road north of town.
Some residents of Cascade Peaks were rescued from trailers and other vehicles that were already partially submerged. Many of the houses in High Valley Neighborhood 6 were at least temporarily inundated.
One resident of High Valley Neighborhood 8, Dana Steichen, said that the residents hadn't seen much damage after putting in a rock retaining wall between the homes and the river. However, he added that a family member's home was beginning to see groundwater bubble up from underneath, presumably a result of the flood.
Two journalists with The Chronicle visited the High Valley neighborhoods Thursday afternoon. Neighborhood 6 was the hardest hit as the river appeared to wash away the earth under the foundations of two riverside homes. A third older A-frame style house close to the river was still partially submerged.
Another house that was under construction just across the street from those that recently became riverfront property was the source of debris scattered through the neighborhood and into yards. Plywood, insulation and metal sheets — possibly used for roofing or siding — littered yards and wrapped around trees.
Full-time residents of the area said the two houses closest to the river had not been occupied for quite some time. They also suggested that the construction site of the new house had been untouched for as long as six months. The frame of the house still sat in water Thursday, one of the last places in the neighborhood still heavily inundated. Next to it, and also partially submerged, sat a small fifth wheel camper trailer.
One community member, Todd O’Mealy, used a tractor to spread gravel around a friend's yard on Thursday afternoon. O’Mealy attempted to fill in holes created by the flood water. In two places, water had scoured away earth from the sides and beneath the edges of the roadway. Chunks of asphalt had began to collapse as a result and made it difficult to access the driveways of multiple homes in the neighborhood.
O’Mealy, who has been a full-time Packwood resident for the last few years, said he had spent the last couple of days helping friends and neighbors get out of the neighborhood. The man said he had already helped haul two trailers out of the neighborhood to avoid flooding.
“We just kind of went around and told people that we knew we were here,” O’Mealy said. “We pulled a trailer out down here and another trailer out before. And I’m so glad we did, because I came back the next morning. They would have all been gone.”
O’Mealy attempted to visit the neighborhood on Wednesday morning not long after the peak of the flooding, which reached major flood stage twice in what emergency officials called a “double crest” before receding below flood level on Thursday.
At the time, the water rushed by above his waist close to the top of his chest-high waders. His friend's house on Thursday afternoon was less than 100 yards away from the edge of the much wider than normal Cowlitz River. Roughly 24 hours earlier, it had been partially under water. Water breached the house and soaked the carpets, but he believes it came up short of ruining the drywall.
Secretary for the Packwood fire department Barbara Wright said the department had been prepared for even more intense flooding. While the flood was serious, she noted that it did not compare to some in the past when as many as 11 homes had been lost.
Most of the damage reported in recent days has been the result of fallen trees or other debris striking homes or vehicles. Many residents around town reported the river washing away rocks and trees, with the shallower sides of the flooded river showing stacks of green-needled trees that had been pulled into the flood roots and all. Wright said the amount of debris raises concerns that they might plug up the river or divert flood water in unexpected ways.
“We’ve been flooded a little differently than in the past,” Wright said. “With High Valley, it was the trees that were causing all of the damage.”
According to Wright, the department was, if anything, over prepared. She added that the department had, at the moment, more paramedics ready to respond than it was able to use. The fire district was apparently preparing for a worst case scenario, unsure of the exact severity of the floods ahead of time.
“Department of Emergency Management put out a strong notification that said anyone who’s close to a river, get out, because we really don't know,” Wright said.
Wright said the area is also expecting the possibility of a second wave of flooding next week. However, an updated forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) now shows a spike in water levels on Tuesday is predicted to be much lower than originally expected. If the forecast is accurate, next week's flood event should be much weaker compared to Wednesday's peak. Flooding in Randle could still be moderate but will likely remain below this week's peak. This week's flooding in Randle far surpassed NOAA’s threshold for a major flood.
In preparation for the flood, the Packwood Improvement Club first opened a shelter in the Community Hall building late on Sunday night in preparation of the heavy flooding expected to hit the area.
According to Improvement Club President Ron Blankenship, the shelter welcomed 16 people on the first night and others sheltered in campers or other vehicles parked in the building's parking lot as a precautionary measure.
Numbers have slowly dwindled from that peak. The number of guests dropped to around 9 individuals on Wednesday night and even fewer on Thursday. The shelter is expected to stay open through the weekend.
According to both Blankenship and Lewis County Social Services and Public Health Director Meja Handlen, Red Cross volunteers, who had originally manned a shelter in Chehalis earlier this week, were set to arrive in Packwood Thursday evening to help operate the east county shelter.
The Chehalis shelter closed not long before, after the last of its occupants returned to their homes. The Chehalis shelter welcomed as many as 15 people and nine animals at its peak.
The Packwood shelter had the capacity for many more than it welcomed, combining its own cots with some sent over by the Packwood Community Presbyterian Church and by Lewis County. The shelter also received donations of supplies for community members in need. Near the front of the shelter area, folding tables held stacks of donated clothes. Another set of tables held food donated by local community members.
“You know, the support and everything throughout the whole community up here is really, really well,” Blankenship said. “Some of the people that come in, they look for something to do. A lot of them help clean up, do stuff. I had a couple come in yesterday, come in to help me cook breakfast and serve breakfast this morning.”
The Salvation Army of Lewis County Captain Steven Pack said Wednesday that the local Salvation Army location had sent 300 meals to the east side of the county.
Read more about reporting flood damage here: https://www.chronline.com/stories/lewis-county-opens-flood-damage-hotline-as-attention-begins-to-focus-on-recovery,392653
Read more reporting from Eas Lewis County here: https://www.chronline.com/stories/people-just-dont-listen-packwood-fire-chief-says-over-60-rescues-were-conducted-as,392621
