Missing some PNW people tonight.

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8:59 a.m. KING5 News is told a mudslide has hit at 5400 Mt. Baker Highway, just east of Highway 9. The slide is approximately 75 yards across and is 6 feet deep. Five houses have been damaged and power has been knocked out in the immediate area. Officials say the mudslide means the whole eastern portion of Whatcom county is cut off because all other roads are flooded.
 
Are things residing yet? I hope water levels have crested and are on their way down! I used to live at Heather Meadows Lodge. Aka E-Lodge on the top of the most dangerous highway in the states: Baker's 542. I've been stranded on top of that mountain acess highway many times because of avalanches but I never delt with any mud-slides.....god I hope you all are all right.

Does anyone know what's going on with Mt. Baker's Ski Resort:confused:
 
I came back very late last night back from over past shelton after visiting a friend there. It was a bit of a challenge with all the water on the road as well as having to find ways to go around several closures due to water. I did manage to get home. If I had been south of chehalis it looks like I would still be there for the next day or two yet as I5 is closed for 20 miles.

I was very glad to be in my truck.
 
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rngrchad said:
Are things residing yet? I hope water levels have crested and are on their way down! I used to live at Heather Meadows Lodge. Aka E-Lodge on the top of the most dangerous highway in the states: Baker's 542. I've been stranded on top of that mountain acess highway many times because of avalanches but I never delt with any mud-slides.....god I hope you all are all right.

Does anyone know what's going on with Mt. Baker's Ski Resort:confused:
Click to expand...


I reckon you saw my two above posts.....Id guess most employees are off the ski hill, which actually missed much of the rain. They had less precip, and much of it was in form of wet snow.

Actually, 542 is very seldom closed for avalanche control or risk, unlike Hwy 2 and I-90. The most avy prone hwy in the country is Red Mountain Pass in Co, a bit SE of Telluride, and north of Durango.
 
Stevens pass ski area got 13.62 inches of rain since Tuesday... on top of 68-82 inches of snow. I think i'll skip sking this week.


Actually, that was at the highway (ski base); can't image how much got picked up by the mountain.
 
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Lakeside53 said:
Stevens pass ski area got 13.62 inches of rain since Tuesday... on top of 68-82 inches of snow. I think i'll skip sking this week.

Actually, that was at the highway (ski base); can't image how much got picked up by the mountain.
Click to expand...

Well, I would not be too quick to dis the slopes just yet. I was up on Hood this evening and it only took 6 inches of freshies today to sweeten up the slopes that had 8 inches of rain earlier in the week. SkiBowl had about a 60 inch base, and about a foot was washed off. I skied my butt off there tonight. Just got back...

On the way up there a lot of rivers off the west slope of the Cascades were showing signs that they had seriously spilled over. Good news is that is it "supposed" to be clear for a few days now. Also freezing up there above 4k feet.
 
The Used Dog and I are OK and the house is OK. We didn't have long distance phone service until this morning. The power went off for only 3 hours on Wednesday--I love the PUD! I think we're still cut off because the highway is totally quiet.

Wednesday night was sleepless. The weather service kept bouncing the predicted cresting of the Cowlitz up and down. One would have brought water into the house so I loaded the car up with camping gear and stuff for a few days of living outdoors. But the river didn't flood as bad as in 2006. The creeks are what came up really high. And we've had lots of mudslides. One came very close to a house belonging to some really good friends.

Here's a few pictures I took yesterday of our little community which was being mentioned on the Seattle TV news. The usual places, along with some not usual mudslides were flooded. I'll volunteer for cleanup duties this weekend. Unfortunately, I'm experienced at that .

Wednesday evening I put the stuff I care about up off the floor of the house.
Note the low supply of ketchup.:(
attachment.php


A small mudslide took out the sign painting business. Nobody hurt.
attachment.php


The approach to the bridge across the Cowlitz River. This is not unusual. Back when there used to be plenty of loggers here, they'd have a skdder stationed there to winch cars and pickups across the bridge during the flood.
attachment.php

Looking east at Highway 12, one of the 3 usually open all winter mountain passes.
attachment.php

This shows what is important to know, beer prices.
attachment.php


Just a few pictures. I haven't traveled about much, for obvious reasons. I think it was more "pleasant" when we were cut off from the retirement/second home community to the east. We aren't this time and the traffic on the backroad, which the Used Dog and I walked was busy with white haired gapers. Which, since we can't get deliveries of gasoline, seems like a stupid thing to be doing. Oh well....I might make it to the woods today.

I'm just about out of ketchup!:(
 
OK, now I'm going to create some controversy. This maple? tree was leaning towards the house for some time. One of our former timber cruisers recommended cutting it down as it was going to go over and hit the house.
The powers that be consulted an arborist, who said it was just leaning and would be safe after they took a few limbs off. Here's what happened Thursday morning, no wind, just saturated ground. This is after they got it off the roof.
attachment.php
 
Here you go,no need to watch that girl/guy on tv with the makeup on,and there pointless spoonfed local weather conditions and Doppler radar.
Plenty of grey to come(about 4 days ago it was impressive,all the way to the hawaiin archipelligo.)
Pineapple express,see look you get a few breaks,long as your not on Vancouver island,north through Queen Charlottes sound.
Ive always thought high desert New Mexico might be a good place to retire after me bones refuse to take 7 or 8 months of cold winter.

ak

http://www.goes.noaa.gov/browsw.html

browsw.html
 
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What... it's rainin'?

My hometown of Orting made CNN, Fox, and MSNBC... Most of the reporters were only a block away from the house I grew up in. All the outlying areas of town usually would get a little water after a lot of snowpack and the rains... but this year was really bad. However the town of Orting didn't get any river water from the Puyallup or the Carbon Rivers. Which is good... because the only way out of Orting is over a bridge no matter which way you go. Either the Puyallup, Carbor rivers or Voigt's Creek near the hatchery... basically an inland Island.

Gary
 
I went to the Post Office for mail. Their building got flooded and the floor was muddy, but the mail is getting through to there. Then I beamed over to the grocery and they did not get water inside. Just in the parking lot. I scored some milk, ketchup:clap: and expired yesterday veggies. The radio said that the highway between here and Morton was open but only during the day. I-5 is open. Now if we get a gas delivery to the unflooded gas station?

I also made it out to the woods. Once I got at a higher elevation, there was no damage and the loggers had cut the trees out of the road.
 
Yah know, I like that last line about the loggers having cut the trees out of the road. People taking the initiative. Most people around here just wait for the city or county crews to do everything, while they sit and complain about the TV not working right. I used to clear the highway into the ranch when I was living there. I'd go out with the tractor and clear the smaller mud and rock slides, and cut trees off and clear the road. Mainly so that we could get out, but out there you have to do a lot of that stuff yourelf, or it does not get done. The big slides? Well, we did have to wait for crews to clear them.
 
Got the last road drain cleared out today... water's going down...

Here's the highway to Duvall.... 2 miles away..

attachment.php
 
rbtree said:
I reckon you saw my two above posts.....Id guess most employees are off the ski hill, which actually missed much of the rain. They had less precip, and much of it was in form of wet snow.

Actually, 542 is very seldom closed for avalanche control or risk, unlike Hwy 2 and I-90. The most avy prone hwy in the country is Red Mountain Pass in Co, a bit SE of Telluride, and north of Durango.
Click to expand...

Yeh I really like those pics of 542. It took me back and man do I miss the Northwest Corner. I'm glad to hear the ski area didn't get all jacked up. However, I specifically remember at least 3 avalanches set by the 542 roadcrew along with their huge snowblower (we called the blower Chewie) one winter. Thanks for the update.
 

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