10A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2015
Saturday’s
storm wallops
the North Coast
The Daily Astorian
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Jay Mitchell, a volunteer with Friends of the Astoria Column, works to clear the access road to the Astoria Column Sunday.
Storm: Column’s scaffolding is
stable but will be tested, adjusted
Continued from Page 1A
her on-call crew, who pro-
ceeded to cut the cover along
the seams to relieve the pres-
sure on the scaffolding —
and to let the cover, a poly-
ethylene debris netting, take
Àight if necessary.
“It can’t withstand more
than 50 mph,” Laibinis said
Sunday, “and yesterday,
that’s what we got.”
So, when the cover ¿rst
started Àapping in the bree]e
like a sail, then started blow-
ing away in pieces as the
windstorm crescendoed, it
meant the restoration team
had done the right thing.
“You cut it and let it go,”
she said. “That’s the whole
emergency plan.”
By the time the storm end-
ed, the cover was gone.
Coast Guard kept
busy by windstorm
The Daily Astorian
‘Weather-dependent’
The scaffolding is stable
but will be tested and ad-
justed over the next several
days. “Right now, they’re
still working on making the
service scaffolding secure,”
said Sheri Mitchell, execu-
tive director of the Friends of
the Astoria Column.
For safety reasons, Astor
Park and the Astoria Column
Gift Shop remained closed
to vehicles and pedestrians
Monday morning and until
further notice. The Astoria
Parks & Recreation Depart-
ment closed the park grounds
during the weekend so de-
bris and downed trees can be
cleared from Coxcomb Drive.
Dedicated in 1926, the
125-foot Astoria Column has
been closed since June for the
$1 million restoration proj-
ect. Even after the storm, the
Column is still on track to be
¿nished by late September,
weather permitting, Laibinis
said. The Column is sched-
uled to reopen Oct. 24.
Fortunately, the storm
didn’t undo any of the res-
toration work, including the
repainting of the murals that
spiral up the structure, she
said. “We were very fortu-
nate in the fact that 90 per-
cent of the mural is ¿nished,”
she said.
As the restoration proj-
ect nears completion, the
Column won’t be covered
except at the top for minor
A storm blew over the
North Coast last week-
end, blowing down trees,
wreaking havoc on the
Hood to Coast Relay fin-
ish, stripping the Astoria
Column restoration and
closing access to Coxcomb
Hill.
After a calm Friday, a
hurricane-like swarm of
clouds brought winds gust-
ing as high as 85 mph down
on the Lower Columbia re-
gion. The National Weath-
er Service increased its
previous gale warning to a
storm, remaining in effect
through noon Saturday.
By late Saturday morn-
ing, gusts were reported as
high as 84.8 mph on Radar
Ridge in Pacific (Wash.)
County, 78.2 over the As-
toria Bridge, 70 mph on
Washington’s Cape Dis-
appointment and 60 mph
above Clatsop Spit. The
winds built seas to between
14 and 16 feet, closing the
Columbia River Bar to rec-
reational traffic, and with it
much of the Buoy 10 salm-
on fishery. A gale warning
remained in effect through
Saturday night.
The winds stripped off
tarps on the scaffolding
placed around the Astoria
Column for its restoration
and blew down trees and
closed access to Coxcomb
Drive through the weekend.
Meanwhile, Hood to Coast
organi]ers in Seaside had to
cancel the relay’s beach af-
ter-party and establish gath-
ering space inside the Shilo
Inn. (See related stories)
The storm knocked out
power to nearly 3,600 resi-
dents around Astoria Satur-
day, along with others on the
Long Beach (Wash.) Penin-
sula and in South County.
The winds stayed above
20 mph at the National
Weather Service’s moni-
toring station at the Astoria
Regional Airport between
3 a.m. and 7 p.m. Another
smaller storm surge kept
winds between 10 and 15
mph between 12:40 a.m.
and 7 p.m. Sunday.
The National Weather
Service forecasts at least a
50 percent chance of show-
ers through Wednesday, with
gusts as high as 20 mph.
Erick Bengel/The Daily Astorian
On Saturday during a fierce coastal windstorm, Mother Nature offered the public an early
peek at the restoration work done on the Astoria Column, which was scheduled to have
its cover removed in late September.
repairs and at the bottom to
discourage visitors from ap-
proaching the base, which is
surrounded by a fence.
A similar storm occurred
during the Column’s 1995
restoration, Laibinis said. In
that instance, the plastic cov-
er partially tore off and twist-
ed the scaffolding.
“(These are) weather-de-
pendent projects,” she said.
During
Saturday’s
storm, the U.S. Coast
Guard responded to more
than 10 reports of people
in the water and more than
20 of vessels dragging
anchor or unmanned and
adrift throughout Oregon
and Washington.
Most of the reports of
people in the water came
from the Puget Sound in
Washington, including Se-
attle, Tacoma, Bainbridge
Island, the Camano Is-
lands, Anacortes, Poulsbo
and Lope] Island. Another
person in the water was re-
ported near Tillamook. All
people were safely recov-
ered by either the Coast
Guard, local agencies or
Good Samaritans.
The Coast Guard had
to escort multiple vessels
into harbors and closed
the Columbia River Bar to
recreational traffic, halt-
ing much of the Buoy 10
salmon fishery. It warned
boaters to keep their boats
secured to docks to avoid
drifting vessels and to
have their name and con-
tact information on their
boats.
“Today was a very busy
day, and we are fully mis-
sion capable and remain-
ing vigilant as this storm
passes through the area,”
said John Howk, command
duty officer for the Coast
Guard’s 13th District, in
a release Saturday. “We
ask everyone to know their
limits and capabilities and
to use their best judgment
when it comes to being on
or near the water.”
Working together
The charter vessel Sea
Angel radioed the Coast
Guard Saturday morning
to report the Playboy Too,
‘This was
a great
collaborative
effort ...”
— Lt. Christopher
Morris
command duty officer for
Sector Columbia River
a fellow charter vessel car-
rying 13 people, taking on
water from a hole on its
starboard side near the wa-
terline. The Coast Guard
launched a Jayhawk he-
licopter from Air Station
Astoria and motor life-
boat crews from Station
Grays Harbor in Westport,
Wash., and Station Cape
Disappointment in Ilwaco,
Wash.
Nearby vessels sup-
plied the Playboy Too with
pumps to fight the flood-
ing, as did the helicopter
when it arrived.
The Coast Guard and
several Good Samaritan
vessels escorted the Play-
boy Too into Westport.
While under tow, the Play-
boy Too’s captain jumped
in the ocean and covered
the hole with putty to slow
the flooding. The boat and
its escort arrived in West-
port around 8:30 p.m.
“This was a great col-
laborative effort between
Coast Guard crews and
fellow mariners who came
to the aid of (one) anoth-
er,” said Lt. Christopher
Morris, command duty of-
ficer for Sector Columbia
River, in a release Satur-
day. “Without the call for
help from the Sea Angel
crew this could have had a
completely different end-
ing.”
The cause of the hole is
under investigation.
Smith: The judge tentatively scheduled Smith’s evaluation for Oct. 13-14
Continued from Page 1A
“There’s nothing wrong with
a little courtesy and a little com-
munication,” Matyas said.
Falls said he only learned
Guastadisegni was improperly
credentialed Wednesday morn-
ing, and had not had time to con-
tact the DA’s office prior to Fri-
day’s court appearance.
After a recess, Marquis said
he had conferred with the state
attorney general’s office and had
been advised the defense was
“misapplying” the new stan-
dards.
“The state is flying blind”
without the mental health infor-
mation Guastadisegni would be
able to provide, Marquis said.
‘There’s nothing
wrong with a
little courtesy
and a little
communication.’
— Cindee Matyas
judge
Matyas tentatively scheduled
Smith’s evaluation with Guasta-
disegni for Oct. 13 and Oct. 14.
Before that date, attorneys
will meet in court Oct. 2 for a
follow-up hearing.
Falls suggested the state look
for a different, certified evalua-
tor in the meantime.
Jessica Smith,
outside the
Clatsop Coun-
ty Courthouse
Friday, is charged
with aggravated
murder and at-
tempted aggravat-
ed murder in the
drowning death
of her 2-year-old
daughter and
cutting the throat
of her teenage
daughter in Can-
non Beach in July
2014.
Joshua Bessex
The Daily Astorian