Posted by Curtis Knight on December 6, 2007 at 3:54 AM
is what I feel like after all the rain out here. Hi folks! we made it through the flood unscathed. We lost power overnight Tuesday, and Verizon got the CO dried out and running sometime today. I just discovered that I've got internet access about an hour ago.
The bad news is, there are a lot of folks out here who've lost everything but the clothes on thier backs, and if they were lucky, managed to save a vehicle. The river came up very fast and caught a lot of people completely off guard. Very swift currents going through the north end of town damaged everything it hit. There is crap everywhere.
Pardon the cliche' but, well, it really does make us appreciate what we have, and how little we lost. We lost one crappy computer to the power surge when the power came back on. I'm feeling pretty damn blessed right now.
I started driving to work yesterday and noticed the Nehalem was within just inches of the Hwy. I stopped and thought long and hard about whether I should continue on to work. I turned around and went home. A few hours later, my route to work was under 6ft of water.
McAfee gave me the rest of the week off so I could help out with the relief effort. I spent the entire day today running messages back and forth, running errands, helping the Guard Troops unload trucks of water, etc. I'm here to tell you that if you've heard the comment on the news lately that people aren't complaining, but rather just digging in to get the work done, you can blelieve it. I heard zero bitching today (except when I asked a guy to move his car, and it turned out it didn't actually need to be moved).
Donations are pouring in. We've got a 40' trailor of drining water coming from WinCo tomorrow morning. About 19,000 cases of 16oz bottles. Food donations are coming in as well as cleaning supplies like bleach, gloves, disinfectant, mops, etc.
I'm impressed with the way the people in charge of this effort are handling things. They're calm, collected, organized and corrodinated. a few hickups now and then, but considering the inherent chaos of the situation, I'd say things are working quite well.
I haven't put in such a physical day in many many years. Man, I'm beat!
Another thing I found interesting is how people just come out of the woodwork to help out. It's impressive and inspiring.
ok, I'm really rambling. Time for a dram, and a nice comfortable bed :)
Posted by John Williams on December 6, 2007 at 8:18 AM
Curtis, thanks for the update and glad to hear your are well!
Posted by Adrian Klein on December 6, 2007 at 9:22 AM
Good to hear an update from you Curtis. Sounds like the cleanup effort is well underway and great to hear that there are many positive helpful folks!
Posted by Ned Fenimore on December 6, 2007 at 9:39 AM
I'm still waiting to hear from my family out there to see how they made out. My sister and her husband are at the top of the hill, but not sure about the kids..
Posted by Jack Graham on December 6, 2007 at 11:22 AM
Curtis... Glad you are back... I was wondering how yo were. Though we have not met I knew you lived in Vernonia. Let us know if there is anything we can do.
JG
I may be a lurker on the PNNW board, but I'm SO glad to hear you and your family are okay. Is there anything any of us can do from a distance (I'm in Bothell), send stuff, do anything besides donate to orgs that will get supplies down there?
Nancy
Posted by Erik Lundh on December 6, 2007 at 1:37 PM
Curtis,
I am truely relieved to hear that you came out pretty much unscathed. The reports looked pretty dismal for anyone living in your area. I also salute you for your volunteer efforts. I have a feeling if the flooding problem in your area doesn't get fixed, many people will be moving out or to higher ground.
Curtis, So glad to hear from you today. I Googled your address last night and from the Sat. photos you looked like you were in a bad spot. Hope all gets back to something close to normal Soon. Keep us posted and if we can help, ASK!
Oh, Curtis! Good to hear from you! Man, what an ordeal; very glad to hear you and family are safe. Thanks so much for posting to let us know you're okay. What else do you guys need down there??
Posted by John Lehmkuhl on December 6, 2007 at 3:32 PM
Curtis, great to hear you are okay. Thanks for your intuition on the river and for helping people get things back together. I hope the rain stops for a while
Posted by Kevin McNeal on December 6, 2007 at 4:48 PM
Wow ! That is something Curtis ! We are glad that you are okay as we were unsure what had happened to you when we had heard that area had been hit and you had not been on for awhile. Anyways glad to know that you are okay and look forward to shooting with you someday.
Posted by David Schoen on December 6, 2007 at 9:43 PM
I heard NPR this morning broadcasting a report of the floods from Vernonia and remembered you lived there. Glad you are safe! But it is unfortunate for those who lost so much. Our neighbors to the south of Olympia in Centralia and Chehalis and all along the coast are having an equally difficult time. Nice that you could help those in need close to you.
Posted by Mike Jordan on December 7, 2007 at 2:01 AM
Curtis, I lost your e-mail address, so I've been watching here to see if you posted and how you made out. As soon as I heard Vernonia had flooed I started think about you. I knew you were up on a hill a ways, but I couldn't remember how high you were. It's tragic about all the others that lost so much, but I am glad to hear that you and your family made it through ok. Now you just need to make it through the clean up and getting back to normal. Hopefully that's the last storm like that for awhile.
Anyway, just wanted to say I was glad to see you post.
Posted by Tom Kloster on December 9, 2007 at 3:31 AM
Glad to hear you're intact, Curtis - my father-in-law was up there helping out on the rescue, and he said it was some of the worst storm damage he's seen in decades. Apparently the railroad just south of you (to Tillamook) was also heavily damaged. Wow!
Tom
Posted by Nancy Lamb on December 11, 2007 at 5:04 PM
Hey Curtis...........you make me want to get in my car and drive down to help. God bless, glad you are well, and do let us Lamb's know if we can help somehow.
Nancy
Posted by Curtis Knight on December 13, 2007 at 2:29 AM
Hi All,
The day after I posted this thread, they put me in charge of distribution of cleaning supplies, water, and food. So for the last week, I've been pretending to be in charge
The Vernonia Cares Food Bank building was flooded. They got it cleaned up and running so the food is no longer my problem. Over the next couple days I'll be training my replacement so I can go back to work next week. Things are starting to wind down and bit but the releif/recovery effort will be going on for at least a year, and I expect I'll be helping out now and then for some time.
This has all been quite an educational experience. I'll post more details later... after I've had time to decompress. This kind of responsibility really stresses me out and I don't deal too well with stress, so I'm getting worn to a frazzle. I think maybe some Lens Therapy will be in order real soon.
Discussion
16 repliesThe bad news is, there are a lot of folks out here who've lost everything but the clothes on thier backs, and if they were lucky, managed to save a vehicle. The river came up very fast and caught a lot of people completely off guard. Very swift currents going through the north end of town damaged everything it hit. There is crap everywhere.
Pardon the cliche' but, well, it really does make us appreciate what we have, and how little we lost. We lost one crappy computer to the power surge when the power came back on. I'm feeling pretty damn blessed right now.
I started driving to work yesterday and noticed the Nehalem was within just inches of the Hwy. I stopped and thought long and hard about whether I should continue on to work. I turned around and went home. A few hours later, my route to work was under 6ft of water.
McAfee gave me the rest of the week off so I could help out with the relief effort. I spent the entire day today running messages back and forth, running errands, helping the Guard Troops unload trucks of water, etc. I'm here to tell you that if you've heard the comment on the news lately that people aren't complaining, but rather just digging in to get the work done, you can blelieve it. I heard zero bitching today (except when I asked a guy to move his car, and it turned out it didn't actually need to be moved).
Donations are pouring in. We've got a 40' trailor of drining water coming from WinCo tomorrow morning. About 19,000 cases of 16oz bottles. Food donations are coming in as well as cleaning supplies like bleach, gloves, disinfectant, mops, etc.
I'm impressed with the way the people in charge of this effort are handling things. They're calm, collected, organized and corrodinated. a few hickups now and then, but considering the inherent chaos of the situation, I'd say things are working quite well.
I haven't put in such a physical day in many many years. Man, I'm beat!
Another thing I found interesting is how people just come out of the woodwork to help out. It's impressive and inspiring.
ok, I'm really rambling. Time for a dram, and a nice comfortable bed :)
JG
I may be a lurker on the PNNW board, but I'm SO glad to hear you and your family are okay. Is there anything any of us can do from a distance (I'm in Bothell), send stuff, do anything besides donate to orgs that will get supplies down there?
Nancy
I am truely relieved to hear that you came out pretty much unscathed. The reports looked pretty dismal for anyone living in your area. I also salute you for your volunteer efforts. I have a feeling if the flooding problem in your area doesn't get fixed, many people will be moving out or to higher ground.
Anyway, just wanted to say I was glad to see you post.
Mike
Kevin
Tom
Nancy
The day after I posted this thread, they put me in charge of distribution of cleaning supplies, water, and food. So for the last week, I've been pretending to be in charge
The Vernonia Cares Food Bank building was flooded. They got it cleaned up and running so the food is no longer my problem. Over the next couple days I'll be training my replacement so I can go back to work next week. Things are starting to wind down and bit but the releif/recovery effort will be going on for at least a year, and I expect I'll be helping out now and then for some time.
This has all been quite an educational experience. I'll post more details later... after I've had time to decompress. This kind of responsibility really stresses me out and I don't deal too well with stress, so I'm getting worn to a frazzle. I think maybe some Lens Therapy will be in order real soon.