‘People just don’t listen’: Packwood fire chief says over 60 rescues were conducted as Cowlitz River flooded

As light rain continued to fall, Cascade Peaks Family Campground co-owner Fred Dills was just beginning to inspect the damage after the Cowlitz River bordering his campground swelled to major flood levels this week.

The floodwaters passing the  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) river gauge in Randle just a handful of miles west of Cascade Peaks crested at 24.17 feet Wednesday evening, just about a foot shy of the record of 25.2 feet set in 2006.

Flood waters throughout East Lewis County were finally beginning to recede on Thursday afternoon following the atmospheric river event, which began Monday, dumping heavy rain in the region throughout most of the week.

While some Cascade Peaks campers heeded flood warnings that preceded this week’s storm systems and left, many still had to be rescued when they suddenly found their campers and RVs inundated on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Fred, who runs Cascade Peaks together with his wife, Patti Dills, was still wary of the falling rain when The Chronicle visited on Thursday.

“It’s raining right now, and I’m not gonna say one way or the other whether to come back or not,” Fred said.

With the exception of a possible break from overcast skies on Saturday, rain is predicted to continue falling through next Thursday, according to NOAA weather predictions for Randle.

According to the NOAA Cowlitz River flood gauge in Randle, minor to moderate flooding is predicted to start again just after 4 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 16, and remain at minor to moderate levels until midnight on Wednesday, Dec. 17.

It wasn’t just campers at Cascade Peaks that needed to be rescued either, as those living on or near the Cowlitz River’s banks in both Packwood and Randle found flood waters trapping them during the storms this week.

The Chronicle caught up with Packwood’s Lewis County Fire District 10 Chief Lonnie Goble as he assisted East Lewis County residents in repairing flood damage on Bennett Road.

“We’ve had to do around 60-something (rescues),” Goble said. “... The bad thing is people just don’t listen, because everybody was warned before this all started. It’s either a day of inconvenience for people to leave their home and then come back, or be stubborn and pay the consequences.”

In Washington state, those who ignore flood warnings and need to be rescued do not have to actually pay for it, only risking their own personal wellbeing along with possible embarrassment and harassment from neighbors asking them why they didn’t leave.

In contrast, in Arizona — where normally dried out river beds become flash flood dangers during annual monsoon storms — a state law colloquially known as the “stupid motorist law” makes a driver liable for the cost of their swift water rescue, plus ambulance fees, if they ignore a road closed barricade and get trapped trying to cross a flooded area.

According to Goble, this week’s flooding in East Lewis County was about on par with the flooding he saw back in 2015.

Fred added this was the worst flooding he had seen since 2015, too, having owned and run the campground nestled on the banks of the Cowlitz River just off of U.S. Highway 12 between Packwood and Randle since 2013.

Along with flooding damage to many of the buildings, roads and RV hookups on the campground, the welcoming mascot at the campground’s entrance — a life-size Smokey the Bear statue carved out of a log — was knocked over by the waters and dragged about 20 feet from where it originally stood.

“Poor old Smokey didn’t make it this year,” Fred said. “He was by that bush right there, and if it wasn’t for where he’s at, he would’ve gone further.”

Another camper taking refuge in the campground’s main office with Fred and Patti said he had witnessed propane tanks floating off in the flood waters, and lost all of his firewood, too.

A flood warning in Lewis County remained in effect until Friday, Dec. 12, at 2:22 a.m. according to NOAA’s website, with a flood watch in effect after that until 4 p.m. on Dec. 12.

To view flood gauge information on the Cowlitz River in both Packwood and Randle, along with other gauges throughout Lewis County, visit the NOAA Northwest River Forecast Center’s website at https://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/rfc/.