8
community
october25
2011
A Tale of Two Houses
continued from front page
home “I was starting to
get panicky,” says Camrin.
Camrin
talked
with husband Brandon and
several friends by phone,
and then took another walk
to look at the river. “I saw
that the river was crossing
the highway and slowly
moving towards us,” says
Camrin. She realized it
was time to evacuate and
now she was scared.
She and the kids
gathered four cats, two
dogs, a rabbit, goldfish
and hermit crabs and
Juniper Street days after the December 3, 2007 flood, after standing water
grabbed duffles of clothes,
was finally pumped out.
sleeping bags, computers
who was very pregnant wearing her rubber boots and
and piled in the car. The road south towards town
rain jacket and looking at all the cleaning supplies, in
was blocked by water and an Oregon State Trooper;
shock as well,” remembers Camrin. “ And I said, ‘Are
Camrin’s plan was to head north and loop around on
you from Vernonia?,’ and she said yes and then we both
Stoney Point Road and head to her friend Stacey Adams
just started crying and hugging. I didn’t know this lady
house outside of town on Keasey Road. “We found out
but later I found out it was Becky Carlton who had only
later from neighbors who stayed that just five minutes
moved into their new home on Heather Lane two streets
after we left the fence in our backyard just burst open
over from us a couple days before the flood. They had
with water that it was holding back,” said Camrin.
just moved their baby stuff in and were expecting any
South on Highway 47 at Biggs Road the
day and they were having to deal with all the flood stuff
highway was covered with flowing water; on the
too. My neighbor, Ginger Westlake had rescued their
opposite side was another State Trooper stopping
dog.”
traffic from heading towards Vernonia. Camrin then
did something she knows she shouldn’t have done—
she drove her minivan through what turned out to be
almost three feet of flowing water. “At one point the
van started to float, and then we hit solid ground again
and made it through,” says Camrin. “I could see
Trooper shaking his head the whole time, but
HUD OWNED Property for Sale the
I just didn’t know what else to do.”
The route on Stoney Point took the family up
$27,500
to higher ground and away from the river. They
1290 N Mist Dr, Vernonia
made it to the Adams home safely. Stacey’s
2 BD, 1 bath, approx. 1058 sq. ft.
husband Larry was out of town as well, and
Cute interior, needs to be raised.
Stacey was at home with her three kids, so the
Try 203k loan. The money to raise the house and
two families stayed together that night, as the
sales price in one loan!
power went out in Vernonia and the rain finally
(this loan for owner occupants only)
slowed.
community for several years. Camrin was very active
in the community—she is a Girl Scout leader, President
of the PTA and is also a small business owner. Her
store, The Clever Cricket, features educational toys for
children.
For Camrin the ranch house on Juniper Street
was her dream house—they paid $245,000 for the 1900
square foot house with a perfect floor plan, including a
huge pantry off the kitchen—one of several highlights
for Camrin. “It was already painted all the colors I
would have chosen—it was perfect!,” said Camrin
during a recent conversation when she revisited the
flood and recovery.
On Monday December 3, 2007, the Eyrrick
family got up and started their day like any other day.
Brandon headed off to work in North Plains twenty-
five miles away; Camrin helped seven year old Kaitlyn
and ten year old Jacob get ready for school. Driving
to school Camrin noticed the Nehalem River was
especially high after unusually hard rain over the past
several days but didn’t really think much about it. It
turned out school had been canceled, another indicator
that something unusual was happening. Camrin, Jacob
and Kaitlyn went back to their home, south of town,
just across Highway 47 from the Nehalem River.
“I talked to several neighbors; some thought it
could flood and were starting to prepare, others thought
that was an overreaction.” remembers Camrin. She did
some laundry and other household chores, “Just stuff I
would normally do,” and then decided to load the kids
and take a drive around town—check on her store in
downtown Vernonia and see what the river looked like.
The Nehalem was continuing to rise so Camrin and the
kids spent some time moving items to higher shelves at
The Clever Cricket just be safe and then headed back
Seller will consider ALL OFFERS!
***
***
The flood waters receded and drained away
overnight and most people were able to get started
the next day cleaning up. The Eyrrick’s faced
several unusual problems. Brandon Eyrrick
was stranded in North Plains and was unable to
reach his family for several days. Drainage tiles
on Juniper Street had been damaged in the flood
of 1996 and had never been replaced; water
continued to stay pooled around the Eyrrick
home. The ranch house sits in a punchbowl of
Carriage House Real Estate
hard packed river clay the home was surrounded
with almost six feet of water; the house had
503-739-3500
at least four feet of water inside. As the first
503-987-1411
days of recovery were taking shape, the Eyrrick
home remained inundated
with chest high flood water.
Camrin pleaded for someone
e
d
s
W
to help her figure out a way
i
toc e
v t
o
r
n
k
to get the water out of her
p rne
ba ow
w
e
tte
home.
no Int
r
e
i
L
e
On Thursday the
W DS
s
Eyrrick family
reunited
with Brandon in Hillsboro—
the family went to Target
to shop for clothes and the
supplies they would need for
an extended stay away from
INTERNET SERVICES
home and the impending
•Computer Servicing
clean up.
Dressed in
• New & Used Computers in stock
sweats and tall rubber boots
• Upgrades & Repairs
• Cell Phone Service & Accessories
Camrin stood in the cleaning
• Office Supplies
• Color Copies & Printing Available
supplies aisle in shock, not
• Media Transfers
• Notary Services
even knowing where to start
• Ink and Toner Refills
• Internet - DSL, Wireless & Dial up
and what she would need to
buy. “I noticed a woman,
866 Bridge Street, Vernonia
503.429.TECH
aga s
COMPUTER &
Brandon Eyrrick, who is over six feet tall, stands outside
his Juniper Street home; notice the high water line on the
wall under the light fixture.
That same evening the family went to dinner
at Red Robin with friends and relatives where the staff
overheard them talking about the flood; the Red Robin
management bought their dinner and the waitstaff all
pitched in and bought them a gift card to Target.
On Friday the Vernonia Rural Fire Department
was able to pump water out of the Juniper Street bowl
and lower the water level. Friends, neighbors and
volunteers arrived to begin mucking out the house and
started the process of stripping the walls away to allow
the house to start to dry out. “Total strangers came
and helped; my mother-in-law was moved to tears by
a couple that came out from Portland and didn’t even
know us,” said Camrin.
The Eyrricks did not have flood insurance
on their home. Like many Vernonia residents, they
believed the 1996 flood had been an anomaly and would
not be seen again in their lifetime. The interior of the
house was a complete loss, the family lost everything,
including all the Christmas presents that Camrin had
purchased early because she was expecting to be
running her toy store during what she had hoped would
continued on page 9
