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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 11, 2016)
6A • November 11, 2016 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com Tornado aftermath: Manzanita rebuilds, honors responders Still too early for damage estimates By R.J. Marx Seaside Signal The Manzanita Visitors Center’s Manager Dan Haag came to Seaside to give an up- date on Manzanita’s tornado recovery efforts. The Oct. 14 event tore through downtown Manzanita before striking U.S. Highway 101. “It could have been a lot worse,” Haag told members of Seaside’s Chamber of Com- merce at its Friday breakfast. “From what you’ve seen and heard on the news, obviously some serious damage. Luck- ily it happened when no one was around and a lot of those houses were unoccupied.” According to Haag, 128 different buildings were dam- aged and six businesses sus- tained damages. “The cleanup has progressed really well,” Haag said. “Ninety-seven, 98 percent of our merchants are open for business. Lots of trees are down — that’s going to take some getting used to. But if you came down and you saw the damage immediately after the tornado, you’ll see the difference is amazing.” Estimating damages At a special Manzanita City Council meeting Oct. 21, officials estimated they had spent about $35,000 clearing debris from city rights-of- way. The decision was made to wait and see how much debris remains after a few weeks be- fore possibly making damage estimates, according to Man- zanita Administrative Assis- tant Kristin Grasseth. “We’re trying to find what insurance is doing and who’s doing what,” she said Friday. Tornado relief Send donations to Fulcrum Community Resources/Manzanita Tornado Relief, PO Box 44, Manzanita 97130 or visit the Manzanita Tornado Relief Face- book page. Seaside Community Center Commission, 10 a.m., 1225 Avenue A. Tuesday, Nov. 15 Sunset Empire Parks and Rec District, 4 p.m., 1225 Ave. A, Seaside. Seaside Planning Commis- sion, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Seaside Planning Commis- sion, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Wednesday, Dec. 7 Seaside Improvement Com- mission, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Seaside Tourism Advisory Commission, 3 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Gearhart City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 698 Pacific Way. Thursday, Nov. 17 Seaside Tree Board, 4 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Seaside Convention Center Commission, 10 a.m., 1225 Avenue A. Seaside Transportation Ad- visory Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Gearhart Planning Com- mission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 698 Pacific Way. Tuesday, Nov. 22 Monday, Dec. 12 Seaside Airport Advisory Committee, 6 p.m., at the Seaside Airport. Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Monday, Nov. 28 Seaside Transportation Advisory Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall Thursday, Dec. 8 Thursday, Dec. 15 DINING on the NORTH COAST Great Restaurants in: GEARHART SEASIDE CANNON BEACH Shop Manzanita SUBMITTED DRAWING Red markings indicate damage to homes in Manzanita. Everybody jumped right into action. The best way to help with the recovery, he added, is to come to Manzanita. But the campground remains closed for the winter season By Erick Bengel EO Media Group JOSHUA BESSEX/EO MEDIA GROUP The Astoria Bridge and Saddle Mountain as seen from Wash- ington state earlier this year. ‘We get a lot of trees come down up there, so if a large tree comes down and somebody’s on the other side of that tree, they’re pretty much going to be stuck.’ Craig Hurst, a ranger assistant with Oregon State Parks on the other side of that tree, they’re pretty much going to be stuck.” Cox planned to close the road for the entire season, but he said he did not know the Saddle Mountain trail is a popular destination in the winter, so he changed course. “I just didn’t realize the outcry this would cause,” Cox said. Tuesday, Dec. 6 Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. “Come visit your favorite shop, have a meal at your fa- vorite restaurant, say ‘Hi’ to your local merchants,” Haag said. “They’ll love you for it. Saddle Mountain road reopens after storms The campground at Saddle Mountain State Natural Area will remain closed through the winter, but the vehicle road leading up to it reopened Tuesday after a brief closure that caused outcry among hik- ers. The state parks department recently closed the gate be- tween the U.S. Highway 26 entrance and the day-use area. Drivers could park outside the gate, but hikers and hunters had to walk an additional cou- ple of miles to reach the Sad- dle Mountain trail. Ben Cox, park manager of the Nehalem Bay Manage- ment Unit — which oversees Saddle Mountain and other parks and recreation sites — said he closed the road out of concern for visitors’ safety after the mid-October storms ripped through the North Coast and knocked down trees at the park. Craig Hurst, a ranger as- sistant with Oregon State Parks said that, in winter, “we get a lot of trees come down up there, so if a large tree comes down and somebody’s Monday, Nov. 14 Wednesday, Nov. 16 “What we’re coming to find is that there’s more homes with damage that wasn’t visible.” Doors not being able to shut are indications that “something shifted,” Grasseth said. “Some people are not even aware there is damage to their homes.” Engineers are being called in to examine homes in the tornado’s path. Grasseth described one property on cinder blocks that shifted 19 inches. “That house is coming down,” she said. “Those are the things we’re up against right now.” On Friday, Laneda Avenue was closed throughout the day from Third Street North to Fourth Street North so that a contractor could remove the roof from the damaged building across from the post office. The Manzanita City Coun- cil meeting on Nov. 9 will provide an update and “we’ll see where things are at,” Grasseth said. Haag invited Seaside chamber members to show their gratitude to first re- sponders, utility workers, city employees and local contrac- tors, among others, at a break- fast held Saturday at the Pine Grove Community House in Manzanita. “We’re very fortunate,” Haag said. “We have a very well-oiled, well-prepared emergency response team. PUBLIC MEETINGS The department decided to revert to standard winter operations: The campground and restrooms are closed, but the road and parking lot will be open. “This is the best compro- mise that we could come up with,” he said. Cox said drivers in the winter should be careful on the Saddle Mountain road, which can become icy. They should also be mindful that, “during storm activity, that road’s a great candidate for trees to come down,” he said. Meanwhile, because of the seasonal weather, the short-staffed Nehalem Bay Management Unit will not be working on the trail, which can get washed out and be- come unstable. “It’s not practical or realis- tic to try to do a trail repair or maintenance during the win- ter up there,” Cox said. Elated hiker Pete Gimre, owner of Gimre’s Shoes in Astoria, has hiked the Saddle Mountain trail every month since April 2003. On Saturday, he hiked the extra 2 miles to the park, then took the trail to the summit, keeping his streak alive: 163 straight months. When he learned the road would no longer be blocked, Gimre said, “That is fantastic news.” “There’s literally thou- sands of people I see up there over the course of time that encompasses 12 months of the year,” he said. Gimre saw many hikers this weekend who, as he did, walked the additional length to the trailhead. But he won- ders how many chose to turn around instead. MAZATLAN M E X I C A N R E S TA U R A N T Phone 503-738-9678 1445 S. 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