Journal
The
NEWS | Burn ban lifted [3] ENVIRONMENT | Beach restoration underway [5] CULTURE | TED Talks come to San Juan Island [9]
WEDNESDAY, September 9, 2015 n VOL. 108, NO. 36 n 75¢
Extreme weather floods Friday Harbor Staff photo/ Anna V. Smith
City workers opened up a storm drain last Thursday to help the water empty from the road and businesses on First Street.
By Anna V. Smith Journal reporter
Extreme rains Sept. 3 gushed down sidewalks in downtown
Friday Harbor, keeping patrons inside and flooding businesses on Spring Street and First Street including Black Fish, the Bean
Cafe, Pelindaba Lavender, Arctic Raven Gallery, King’s Market, stores in Surina Business Park off Malcolm Street and more.
“In all my fifteen years here, I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Richard Babbitt, who was in Rocky Bay Cafe when the flooding started. “Everybody was glued to the window, watching.” The rain culminated in a rushing torrent of rain down the sidewalks and pooling on First Street. Cars were up to their bumpers in water, and once the rain subsided people came out to try to help or watch. Eye witness accounts say about five inches of rain water pooled in King’s Market, which had to close temporarily in order to remove the water. It reopened by early afternoon. According to Town Administrator Duncan Wilson, blocked drains were not the culprit for the flooding. “It had absolutely positively
Local firefighters and Red Cross volunteers join wildfire efforts By Anna V. Smith Journal reporter
The forest fires in Washington continue to burn, drawing international aid from firefighters and volunteers, including from the San Juan Islands. Six firefighters from San Juan Island, one from Orcas Island and five local Red Cross volunteers have joined the effort to contain the fires and help affected residents. Red Cross volunteer Allan Smith, 64, from Friday Harbor began Aug. 30 to assist the Colville Shelter, where he said he is helping people affected by the fires by listening to their stories, supplying food, maintaining shelter supplies, administration and looking after pets. “There is really no normal day, one always carries one’s gear because you seldom end up where you started,” Smith wrote in an email to the Journal. “As the fire behavior changes, one’s day gets re-ordered, even hour to hour. Red Cross days here are officially 12 hours but in reality we work till the work is done.”
State of emergency
Gov. Jay Inslee declared a State of Emergency on June 26 and requested a federal Emergency Declaration Aug. 19 for 11 Washington counties, but resources and people have still been strapped due to the sheer magnitude of the fires. Capt. Noel Monin, 41, of San Juan Island Fire Rescue assisted in fire fighting efforts from Aug. 12-28, first at Renner Canyon, and then the Stick Pin fire which was renamed the Kettle Complex as multiple fires merged together. “We were strained for resources and personnel on all levels,” Monin said. “From top position to bottom positions. It required a lot of flexibility and collaboration with the resources that were there to go above and beyond what was expected.” This was Monin’s first large scale assignment as a Task Force Leader, which he said is
a person who works with the division leader to come up with solutions, and then find a way to implement them. “I would say that fire is the most taxing I’ve ever been on,” Monin said. “It was very demanding and required a lot more effort than usual.” Lt. Tad Lean, 47, of San Juan Fire Rescue said that they would ask for more personnel or resources, but were never guaranteed to get them. Lean was also at the Kettle Complex, from Aug. 14-28. “We were so strapped we just had to do with what we had,” Lean said. His daily schedule started by waking up at 4:45 a.m., having breakfast, heading to the daily briefing, and then going out to the fire line around 7 a.m., working on the fires until around 7 p.m. and then returning to camp. When working out on the line, Lean said the temperatures were high 70s to low 80s, and the See FIRE, Page 4
nothing to do with leave and needles on the drains,” Wilson said, “We hadn’t seen anything like this and the system just couldn’t handle the sheer volume. Wilson explained that the 48 inch drainage pipe simply couldn’t contain all of the downpour, resulting in flooding. “The entire line was charged,” Wilson said. “It was so strong and so powerful it blew a manhole off.” City workers had to block off the manhole near the intersection on Argyle Street and Spring Street with a truck so that well-meaning helpers wading into the calf-high water wouldn’t fall in on accident. Business owners used sandbags and towels to keep the water at bay, one used tables as a barricade to try and stop the flow from getting into his store. Some were barefoot, trying to sweep the sidewalks of detritus after the water drained out of the storefronts and off the sidewalks. Have a flood photo or video? Email it to us at asmith@sanjuanjournal.com. We will post a compilation of photos on our website. For a photo slideshow of the flooding visit www.sanjuanjournal.com
Sales deadline
2015 Senior section publishes the week of Sept. 23 in the Journal, Sounder & Weekly. Sales Deadline: Wed., Sept. 16, 2015. For more info, call the Journal 378-5696.