8 DECEMBER 15, 2007
Smoke Signals
Sttoirmn doses TirfibaD ffikes iron- ttw days
Hy Dean Rhodes
Smnle SinimlH editor
Although a fierce Pacific storm
forced closure of Grand Rondo
Tribal offices for two clays on Dec.
3-4, the Grand Uonde campus was
relatively unscathed by the wind
and pounding rain compared to
other inundated areas in north
western Oregon and southwestern
Washington.
The two days of unremitting rain
did not halt the Dec. 2 General
Council meeting from being held
in the Community Center, but
the wind and downpour prompted
Tribal Chairwoman Cheryle Ken
nedy to end the meeting in the early
afternoon as lights flickered.
On Monday, Dec. 3, phone service
in the Grand Rondo area was non
existent, hampering Tribal phones
and Internet access, which forced
offices to close.
Mike Larsen, Tribal Facilities
manager, said that the worst
damage on the Tribal campus
was water getting into the Health
and Wellness Clinic. An electrical
vault near the Community Center
had conduit running to the clinic
and the conduit was not enclosed.
When the vault filled with water,
the water ran through the conduit
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Photo by Dean Rhodes
Nacho Morales of D&H Flagging directed traffic at the intersection of Highway 1 8 and Grand Ronde Road on Dec. 4,
preventing drivers from proceeding on to the Coast. A fierce Pacific storm downed trees and caused flooding in the
Grand Ronde area on Dec. 2-3 and forced a two-day closure of the Tribal offices. Below, a tree in Tribal housing pulled
up its roots after being blown over by the winds.
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Photo by Dean Rhodes
down into the clinic.
Facilities employees showed up for
work on Monday, discovered where
the water was coming from and
pumped the water out of the vault.
The water did not damage any
Tribal technology equipment lo
cated in the clinic since it had been
previously placed on racks off the
floor, Information Systems Man
ager Trevor Aaron said.
"The maintenance staff was on it
right away," said Mark Johnston,
Health Clinic executive director.
Tribal offices were closed Tues
day, Dec. 4, as local phone service
land lines, cell phones and In
ternet was intermittent at best.
Phone and Internet service to
Tribal offices came back online late
Tuesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, flooding from the
South Yamhill River flowed over
a portion of State Highway 18 just
east of Spirit Mountain Casino on
Monday morning. The river crested
at 16.26 feet late Sunday night
near Willamina, according to the
National Weather Service, about
a foot short of its historical high
of 17.07 feet, which occurred in
December 1964.
West Valley Fire and Rescue
crews closed Highway 18 about 9
a.m. Monday, but allowed travelers
to drive across the rushing water
about an hour later "at their own
risk," said Lt. Dave Morey.
"The river rose so much quicker
than in the 1996 flood," he said.
Downed trees and power lines
forced the state Department of
Transportation to close Highway 18
west of the casino between Grand
Ronde Road and the coast.
Casino Facilities Director Ron
Reibach said between 70 to 90
guests were at Spirit Mountain on
Monday and couldn't get anywhere
because highways heading east,
west and north were closed.
Spirit Mountain Casino was
named an evacuation shelter for
area flooding victims by the Yam
hill County Emergency Opera
tions Center. West Valley Fire and
Rescue lent the casino radios for
communication since phone lines
were down.
Reibach said he noticed several
area residents eating dinner at the
casino Monday night because they
did not have power at home.
Meanwhile, the casino building
experienced some roof leaks and
lost a couple of ceiling tiles, but re
ceived no serious damage, he said.
Water in the casino underpass
rose for awhile and a couple of cars
stalled out as a result ,oXj.jrying
to drive through the high water,
Reibach said.
Natural Resources Division Man
ager Michael Wilson said the Tribe's
fish weir on Agency Creek survived
and there was no damage to the
Natural Resources building.
Wilson said the reservation's
culverts, roads and ditches held
and there was scattered blow-down
timber, with the largest blow-down
area being between a half-acre to
an acre.
The storm was the result of mois
ture from tropical typhoons collid
ing with Arctic air coming down
from Alaska.
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Photo by Bob McElderry
West Valley Fire & Rescue crews controlled traffic on Highway 1 8 east of Spirit Mountain Casino on Dec. 3. The highway was closed for about an hour Monday
morning as the South Yamhill River overflowed its banks and other local rivers and streams crested near record highs.