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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Seattle Hill Road closed between Mill Creek, Snohomish 12/3/07 • Streets flooded, rivers rising in Snohomish County 12/3/07   CONTACT THE HERALD Do you have a news tip? newstips@heraldnet.com | 425.339.3400   Published: Monday, December 3, 2007 Roads blocked, power out along Washington coast By Rachel La Corte Associated Press OLYMPIA -- Drenching rain swelled rivers and flooded streets across much of Western Washington on Monday, and high winds gusting to more than 80 mph blew trees into power lines and onto roads. The National Weather Service warned of record flooding in southwest Washington's Chehalis River basin. High tides near Aberdeen were expected to compound the problem at the river's lower reaches. "This has the shapings of a major problem in terms of the number of rivers that are potentially going to flood," state Emergency Management spokesman Rob Harper said. "The storm amounts are very significant." The Grays Harbor County Public Utility District reported 33,000 customers without electricity Monday, and most major roads in Grays Harbor and Pacific counties were closed or blocked, including U.S. Highways 12 and 101. At one point early Monday nearly every road into Aberdeen was closed or blocked. Two county electric workers were injured when a tree hit their truck. In the tiny town of Pe Ell, creeks feeding into the Chehalis River looked more like surging rivers. Some homes and businesses were flooded, and although people still had power, locals said roads leading out of town appeared blocked or impassable. "There's nothing. You can't get in or out," homeowner Yvonne Powers said. Powers and her husband were among the residents preparing to ride out the storm by readying an electric generator and storing water in their bathtub. The weather service said heavy rain and lowland snow likely would cause the Chehalis River to surge into areas that had never flooded before. Officials expected the river to crest at nearly 75 feet on Tuesday morning -- about 10 feet above flood stage for that area. Flood warnings also were issued for numerous other rivers, and officials predicted heavy winds would sweep up the Columbia River and into Eastern Washington. Two Grays Harbor PUD workers trying to restore service were injured, one seriously, in a 40-foot fall after a windblown tree hit a lift truck's bucket Sunday night, sheriff's Deputy David Pimentel said. Both workers were hospitalized, one with head injuries and the other with back injuries. Rescuers used chain saws and dodged falling trees to clear the way for an ambulance to the scene, Sheriff Michael J. Whelan said. "It was very dicey," Whelan said, adding that he had to be picked up by a patrol car after a falling tree smashed his truck in the driveway at his home. "In 30 years of law enforcement, it's as bad as I've ever seen," Whelan said. Whelan said all access to the western part of the county was blocked Monday morning. "We have trees and power lines down literally all over the county and they're blocking the roadways," he said. "The wind so far has not abated. It's been extremely strong." Crews wouldn't be able to reopen the roads until the wind dies down, Whelan said, though officials were trying to get some emergency routes open. Repair crews were pulled off roads and streets early Monday because of the continuing hazard, PUD officials said. In Olympia, the rain turned a normally small creek into a roiling, muddy surge of water that tore through a wall at the Ranch House BBQ. Tables and booths were strewn across the street, and a storage shed was pushed about 300 feet away. Christy Romo, who lives just up the hill from the restaurant, said she could hear the floodwaters coming and started packing before the first floor of her cabin was inundated. "I knew I wouldn't have much time," Romo said. "I heard a bang, and then saw the water rising quickly." As she ran out her front door, Romo found her truck blocked by washed-up logs. "I'm worried that something is going to give way and collapse," she said. Mudslides halted north-south Amtrak passenger train service between Eugene, Ore., and Vancouver, British Columbia. Winds gusted to 81 mph in Hoquiam early Monday before the National Weather Service line went down. Other high wind gusts included 48 mph in Bellingham, 47 in Shelton, 43 at Oak Harbor, 37 at Friday Harbor and 36 at Olympia. A weather spotter reported winds of 60 mph gusting to 90 mph at 5 a.m. at Clallam Bay on the northern coast of the Olympic Peninsula. High wind warnings remained in effect for most of the western part of the state through Monday afternoon. Rainfall in the six hours after midnight included 3.03 inches in Shelton, 3.02 in Bremerton, 2.01 at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and 1.64 in Olympia. Thirty-hour rainfall totals included 5.72 inches at Shelton, 5.33 at Bremerton, 3.50 in Olympia and 3.31 at Sea-Tac, following snowfall ranging from dustings of an inch or less to as much as a foot in the outer suburbs east of Seattle on Saturday and early Sunday. Flood warnings were issued for all streams and rivers flowing out of the Olympic Mountains, the Puyallup River near Orting and the Chehalis River near Porter, and a high surf warning was issued for the coast. Flood warnings also were in effect for the remaining major rivers west of the Cascades, and for streams and urban areas in Western Washington from the Canadian border to the Oregon border. Snow and ice also fouled traffic across the Cascade Range and points farther east. An avalanche warning was issued through Monday for the Cascades. Interstate 90, the state's main east-west artery, was closed more than an hour a few miles east of Snoqualmie Pass for avalanche control work early in the day, and U.S. 2 was closed through Stevens Pass shortly before daybreak because of the avalanche danger. East of the mountains, numerous snow slides blocked U.S. 2 in Tumwater Canyon, between Stevens Pass and Leavenworth. Four people in three vehicles were rescued at 4:30 a.m., an hour and a half after the first slide, but a semitrailer and three passenger vehicles remained stuck in the snow, the state Transportation Department said. Freezing rain bedeviled motorists early Monday in Wenatchee, with the weather service predicting accumulations of as much as a quarter of an inch. Relief was expected by the afternoon with rain and warmer temperatures. The Monday morning commute in the Seattle area was slow and messy because of stalled cars and flooded drains, but no major accidents or injuries were reported. Winter storm warnings were canceled after the snow falling in the Cascades turned to rain. About 1 to 2 feet of new snow fell before the snow level rose to about 8,500 feet.

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