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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2018
editor@dailyastorian.com
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WRITER’S NOTEBOOK
A disaster by
which others
are measured
‘A Deadly Wind’ looks at
Columbus Day storm of 1962
O
ne of many memorable images
in “A Deadly Wind: The 1962
Columbus Day Storm” is an
eyewitness account of a four-engine plane
managing to travel no faster than a car
could in noon-hour traffic, slugging its way
less than 500 feet above downtown Seattle
into the screaming wind.
The pilot of a smaller plane in Hillsboro
recalled “flying backwards at full throttle.”
Going nearly flat-out and running out of
fuel, she brought the aircraft in for a land-
ing “straight down, like an elevator.”
Hearing horrific tales about the Oct.
12, 1962 storm are part of the initiation for
new residents of this coastline. Typhoon
Freda formed Oct. 3 and meandered
across the Pacific Ocean before whipping
itself into a frenzy against the forests and
people between Northern California and
Vancouver Island. Breathtaking wind
speeds were recorded — 179 mph at Coast
Guard Station Cape Blanco on the south
Oregon coast, 170 mph at Mount Hebo
near Tillamook and 160 mph at Radar
Ridge near Naselle. Astoria only recorded
96 mph.
What’s the fastest you’ve ever gone, not
counting an airplane? For me, it was 120
mph in the passenger’s seat of a friend’s
gleaming white Ford Mustang Mach 1,
rocketing through the Utah desert on I-15
bound for Vegas, Disneyland and the
Southern California beaches a few weeks
after high school graduation. It felt danger-
ous — and was. Now add 40, 50 or 60 mph
on top of that, and we get to the Columbus
Day Storm’s most reckless velocities.
Younger residents and more recent
arrivals will better recall the “Great Coastal
Gale of 2007,” the leftovers of Typhoons
Mitag and Hagibis, which brought a top
gust of 147 mph at Radar Ridge. It took one
local life when a woman’s house burned
down on the Long Beach Peninsula. That
storm system went on for an entire week-
end here on the coast, but wind damage
was more localized to the coast and flood-
ing primarily hit the Chehalis River Valley,
closing Interstate 5 for several days.
The Columbus Day Storm took many
more lives overall — around 46, compared
to 18 in December 2007 — and struck not
only the coast but all the major inland pop-
ulation centers from the Willamette Valley
to Seattle. This urban disaster is the main
focus of author John Dodge’s “A Deadly
Wind,” which hardly mentions damage
inflicted on Pacific and Clatsop counties in
October 1962.
Each year brings storms
Although today marks the 56th anniver-
sary of the storm and the 50th was the more
natural time to mark the occasion, start of
any winter storm season is a good time to
remember just how violent our weather
can be. Especially between now and year’s
end, our coast is subject to massive storms
that can be both entertaining and terrifying,
depending on where and how well prepared
you are.
One important point made by Dodge
is how unready residents were for the
1962 storm in that time before Doppler
radar and near-instant danger notices.
Meteorology and hazardous weather
notifications have advanced a long
way, even just since 2007.
In 1962, ships at sea provided
some of the only preliminary warnings
of monster winds. A passage from “A
Deadly Wind” about a World War II
Liberty ship stationed off Northern
California:
“I spent three years at seas
and that was the worst storm we
ever had,” said John Hubbard, a
retired boilermaker from Midland,
Michigan, who was a deckhand on
watch that morning on the bridge of
the USS Tracer.
Hubbard said all on board won-
dered how much more pounding
the flat-bottomed ship could take
before it broke apart.
“We’d crest a wave and the
ship’s screws [propeller] would
come out of the water,” he said. “I’d never
seen swells that big. I was scared s***less.
I still thank God and the captain of the ship
that we made it.”
Cinematic drama
Despite the omission of the mouth of the
Columbia and some chafing editing quirks,
“A Deadly Wind” is an entertaining look at
the storm by which Northwesterners judge
all others. It places the disaster in its histor-
ical context. Among other things, we were
in the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis and
culmination of the Seattle World’s Fair.
The account of men stuck in a service
elevator half way up the Space Needle,
playing cards to pass the time as the
maelstrom twisted the structure’s frame
around, would be a heck of a scene to see
dramatized in a Hollywood film. For sheer
terror, nothing beats the lions that escaped
their owners in a Spanaway neighborhood
during the confusion, attacking an unsus-
pecting family. Famous disaster movie
director Irwin Allen would have had rich
pickings if he had brought the Columbus
Day Storm to the silver screen.
In our area, worst conditions arrived
about 5 p.m. on that Friday, Oct. 12, with
an extremely low pressure of 28.23 inches
— compared to about 28.26 this Tuesday in
category 3 Hurricane Michael.
There was catastrophic damage to for-
ests, buildings and signs.
Seattle bow hunter Edward Wolfe was
warned of the approaching storm, “but
expressed confidence and left for Long
Island in a 10-foot boat.” His body was
recovered Nov. 9.
One of several harrowing local episodes
was experienced by veterinarian Dr. Allen
Goulter and his family:
“They were seated in their living room
when all of a sudden a terrific scream was
heard and at that same instant the south
front wall caved in and crashed to the floor,
wall pictures and other articles about the
room flying in all directions as the crazy
OSU Press
A new book is a vivid retelling of
one of the Pacific Northwest’s worst natural disasters.
wind swept through the house. Dr. Goulter
ran into the yard, picked up a 6x8 timber
which had just previously been torn out of
the Goulter veterinary clinic, took it into
the living room, and by every member of
the household putting his shoulder to the
task, raised the wall to its nearly original
position and braced it with the timber. Not
a one of the plate glass broke.”
Salmon cannery roofs were ripped off
at the Port of Ilwaco and the port’s flagpole
was bent into an “L” shape. Oystermen in
the south half of Willapa Bay estimated
losses at $300,000 — about $2.5 million in
2018 dollars — from seed oysters buried
by wind-generated waves.
Tips for now
Nobody — including storm fanatics like
myself — wants to see another one like
Oct. 12, 1962 or Dec. 7, 2007. Chances are
good, though, that we will, like it or not.
With this in mind, here’s our standing list
of storm-preparation tips.
Some cost money most of us don’t
readily have on hand, but at a minimum I
urge residents this time of year to pay close
attention to weather warnings. If an intense
storm is imminent, fill your vehicle with
gasoline and make sure to have a little cash
on hand in case power is knocked out to
ATMs.
• Make sure you have enough canned
and other nonperishable foods to feed your
family and your pets for several days.
• The power may go out, so stock up on
foods that do not require refrigeration or
cooking.
• Be sure you have enough clean drink-
ing water to meet the needs of your family
members and pets.
• If you expect to have problems with
your water system, fill tubs and sinks
ahead of time, so you will have water for
dishes, hygiene, etc.
• Refill prescriptions, stock up on
needed medical supplies, and make sure
you have a backup plan for any medical
equipment that relies on electricity.
• Check to see if you need to stock up on
batteries, gas for your generator or propane
tanks. Store those items safely.
• Keep essential electronic devices fully
charged, so they’ll keep working if the
power goes out.
• Round up candles, matches, or lanterns
and flashlights. Make sure they’re in work-
ing order.
• Place important documents and contact
information in a water-safe container.
• Make plans for keeping your pets dry,
safe and warm during the storm. Make a
plan for how you will move livestock in the
event of severe weather or flooding.
• Be sure that you have essential sup-
plies in all of the places where you might
be caught during a bad storm — for exam-
ple, your workplace, your car.
• Walk around your property, looking for
any potential hazards. Take time to secure
loose items that could cause damage during
a storm.
• Make sure you know where gas and
water hookups are located, and how to turn
them on and off.
• Check to be sure that you have enough
blankets and warm clothing to keep warm
if the heat goes out.
• Remember that generators, propane
stoves, and charcoal barbecues can all
generate carbon monoxide. Never use these
items indoors. Use them only outdoors, in
well-ventilated areas.
Matt Winters is publisher and editor of
the Chinook Observer and a member of The
Daily Astorian’s editorial board.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Threaten China with
environmental tariff
egarding the Wall Street Journal article,
“Trump Aims to Model New Trade Deals
on Revised Nafta” (Oct. 4): Former European
Union economic advisor Andre Sapir calls the
new U.S., Mexico and Canada agreement, “a
power play … Europe … would want to have
a balanced agreement.” Sounds like a back-
handed endorsement of President Donald
Trump’s negotiating prowess.
Since Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) precautions are such a large part of
the cost of manufacturing in America, Ore-
gon, Washington and California would greatly
benefit from provisions in future agreements
demanding identical rules of foreign trading
partners.
Threaten an environmental tariff. We are
being salted with arsenic, mercury, and sulfur
directly traceable to Chinese coal, and we’re
sick of it.
WAYNE MAYO
Scappoose
R
Buehler a moderate — really?
nute Buehler, moderate? Really? Let’s
see.
No comment or stance on Brett
Kavanaugh.
Claims to be pro-choice, but thinks abor-
tion is the “wrong option.”
Voted against legislation to provide safe
abortions.
Has a lifetime rating of “F” from the Ore-
gon League of Conservation.
Voted against the state Clean Fuels
program.
Voted against a minimum wage increase
before introducing a bill to cut minimum
wages.
Wants to cut teachers pay and wages for
rural Oregon workers.
Voted against price controls on big phar-
maceuticals (he is a doctor, after all).
Voted against Measure 101 and funding for
Medicaid.
Opposed a bill to limit prescription copays
to $100 a month
K
Moderate? No. Just another President Don-
ald Trump lackey ready to follow the rest of
the lemmings over the cliff … and take us all
with him.
THOMAS RYAN
Seaside
Warrenton city leaders
are transparent
here have been some unfortunate and
misinformed opinions circulating about
Mayor Henry Balensifer, the Warrenton
City Commission, and the work they have
done.
The accusation that the current city
administration and government are not
being transparent is simply untrue. Through
our attendance we’ve have been able to
voice our ideas on improving our city. From
our observation, Mayor Balensifer and the
commission work well together, and we see
no reason to change that.
The mayor’s coffee attendance is grow-
T
ing, town halls have healthy turnouts, the
mayor writes in the Columbia Press as
things come up, and there is a city newslet-
ter you can get upon request. The city fire,
police and administration have separate
Facebook pages that field many comments
and you can get information out about the
city. The city website contains the commis-
sion packets, unless it’s a legal document,
where the public can view all the infor-
mation the commissioners have before a
meeting.
Leadership requires consideration —
consideration of the many volunteers
who make up the city’s boards. Why is
it necessary for the opposing candidate
to mention the mayor’s wife, who was
appointed under the previous mayor, and
elected to chair the library board by her fel-
low advisory board members on her own
merit? Trying to insinuate the mayor’s wife
is part of some kind of conspiracy doesn’t
seem fair or right.
BRENDA HOXSEY
Warrenton