Clackamas County Sandy River Flooding Update for Mt. Hood
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Here is the latest info from Clackamas County concerning the Sandy River flood and the LoLo Pass Road that needs to be rebuilt:
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Mt. Hood Flooding Fire Department Press Release
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Press Release
Hoodland Fire
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 20, 2011
5:00 pm
Welches, Oregon - As Portland General Electric has restored electricity this afternoon, the Hoodland Fire District is concerned for fire safety. We are hopeful that homeowners have shut of their main circuit breakers and appliances to prevent unwanted fires. We are asking people to watch for smoke or fire coming from houses and report to fire department personnel above the washout. At this time the Hoodland Fire District has limited fire suppression capabilities in the affected area. The location of the temporary fire and medical reporting point is located on Lolo Pass Road near Briarwood Road; please look for the driveway marked by two large construction barrels.
Welfare checks that are happening are done by Hoodland Fire Personnel; they will be wearing official fire district apparel to include hats, jackets, sweatshirts, t-shirts, vests etc. If you have someone not affiliated with the fire district or sheriff's office, please report that the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.
The Red Cross will have their catering truck with hot meals available until 7:00 pm today. The Red Cross will determine if there is a need for tomorrow later on today. The shelter at Camp Arrah Wanna will be closing down tonight at 6:00.
The shuttle system is still available, the senior center bus is on approximately 1 hour schedule going from the Barlow Trail Road/Lolo Pass junction to Brightwood, Camp Arrah Wanna, Welches shopping center and Rhododendron. This maybe augmented by the fire district van on an as needed basis. Mountain Express is still operating on their schedule as follows:
|
Barlow Trail & Lodge Lane |
Barlow Trail & Lolo Pass |
|
6:11 am |
6:15 am |
|
11:47 am |
11:52 am |
|
6:42 pm |
6:47 pm |
Respectfully Submitted,
Scott C. Kline
Public Information Officer
Hoodland Fire
State of Emergency Declared in Welches and Zig Zag
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
A state of emergency has been declared for Zig Zag and Welches due to the flooding over the weekend that has left hundreds without power, water, phone and electricity plus a way out from the flooding of the Sandy River. LoLo Pass Road has been taken out for about a half mile due to a change of course by the river. Residents may be out of power for three to six weeks. A hand cut trail for two miles has been cut through neighboring properties for access now that LoLo Pass Road has been taken out for around a half mile. It looks like an earthquake area as the road buckled and river debris flowed through the area just above the Barlow Trail intersection.
The Red Cross has opened a shelter for families affected by the flooding at Camp Arrah-Wanna, 24075 E. Arrah Wanna Boulevard in Welches. The fire department and volunteers are checking on people in more isolated areas.
The bridge that crosses the Zig Zag River close to Hiway 26 to access LoLo Pass is currently closed and is getting assessed for stability. Not only the amount of water flow but the large trees that went down the river caused a great deal of erosion. All local bridges are getting checked out for damage assessment from the barrage of large trees that rambled the structures for days as the rivers roared through the area.
Here is the latest news on the emergency declaration for Zig Zag and Welches.
The total amount of destruction is yet to be completely assessed. At last count I believe four homes have been taken down the river. Three on the Sandy and one on the Zig Zag from a log jam across the Zig Zag River behind the local Skyway Restaurant near Rhododendron. Other homes are threatened by bank erosion and log jams on the rivers.
More details are to follow as they become available.
Mt. Hood Area Flooding Update
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
As I listen to the rain failing this morning I'm thinking, will it stop?
Here is a more comprehensive update on the flooding locally in Rhododendron, Welches, and Brightwood areas.
Mt. Hood Flooding
Monday, January 17, 2011
What does eight and a half inches of rain at Timberline do to our area rivers?Chaos was unleashed throughout the area. The Zig Zag River, the Sandy and the Salmon were all raging over the past couple of days. Over 200 people were evacuated up Lo Lo Pass Road. Power, telephone lines, and cell service are out mostly in the Lo Lo Pass area as the powers of the rivers unleashed their fury.
Here is a newsclip from KPTVshowing how LoLo Pass Road in Rhododendron was wiped out. It's difficult to say how long it will take to rebuild these roads and fix the access.
Two homes were washed away in the flooding. One was called Gertrude's Vintage Cabin along LoLo Pass Road on the Sandy River and built in the 30's or 40's and survived the 1964,1996 and 2006 floods!
The second was a forest service cabin on the Zig Zag River behind the Skyway Restaurant area on Road 3 Lot 7. A log jam event caused major bank erosion in this area and completely took this cabin down the river. The next downriver cabin is also in eminent danger of major erosion and destruction. I spoke with the owner of the cabin while he was assessing the damage. The cabin has been there since the 20s but the river has changed course over the years.
Once the waters recede it will be interesting to see just how much damage has been caused by these recent events.
Ragging River On Mt. Hood
Thursday, November 9, 2006
Ragging rivers and flooding hit the mountain on Monday, 11/06/06, with lots of damage to area homes and plenty of erosion. Sources say at the higher elevations 30 inches of rain hit within a 24 hour period. Lower elevations in Welches had 8 inches of rain in the same time. Eight foot waves carried huge trees and boulders down rivers.
On Monday night the Sandy River was running at 4,000 cubic feet per second which is high and on Tuesday morning, it was running at 17,000 cubic feet per second. This was a much worse mountain event than the 1996 flooding.
Pictured below is a home located on Riverside Drive in Timberline Rim. The shot is taken from the Sandy River Lane side of Timberline Rim. Half of this home went in to the river during the night. A couple of homes down from where this shot was taken a home was evacuated on the bluff due to river erosion below taking out their deck. The force of the river is eating away at their bank.
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This home below is located on LoLo Pass Road between the first two bridges. Luckily a log jam helped divert water away from the house. Many log jams formed along the Sandy River.
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One nearly million dollar home at the upper Barlow Trail Road area had the entire second floor taken out by the river. Unfortunately, their Lexus was in the river too. The owners were away at the time it hit.
LoLo Pass Road was shut down all day as the river ate away part of the road. It's now open again but only one lane at this time.
To top this all off, both roads in to Mt. Hood Meadows ski area are out of commission. Highway 35 at the Robin Hood Camp ground area is totally out.... shades of 1980 flooding when the entire highway was taken out from flooding and closed for the season. The White River Canyon side, Portland side access, let loose with debris and water. I'm sure the pressure is on for this area to get roads open for their pending ski season!
We are all hoping the weather calms down so damage can be assessed and life returns to normal.
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