c stor s ravage ndustry

f ATE Deccrrrhel antl crlll Jirrrrtrrl I_-/sttrrtn: that Porrnded palts ol Calitbrnia, Idaho, Nevada. Orcgon and Washington killcd 26 pcoplc and forced thousands to flee their homes and businesses.

Thc storrns. r'u,hich causecl hundreds of nrillions of dollars in darnage in the five-statc area. started in Northern Calif'olnia shortly bcfrtre Christnias. moved through Oregon. Washington and ldaho. and d<twn tcl Nevada.

In nt'rrthern Ncvada. heavv rains reportedly caused thc worst floocling in more than rl0 ycals alone thc Trr.rckcc Rivcr.

In Sparks. Nv.. Cabinctry Inc. closed perntanently after 5 l" of water' flooded the showroonr and warehouse. According to John O'u,erton. sales. it has not been dctermincd if the company will reopcn in another l<tcation. Two out of f ive crrployees have lefi to seek othcr ernplovrnent.

Nearby. Supply One was hit by 2 ft. of water in its warehoLrse which destroyed four trailerloads of goods. Warchouse mgr. Trixy Pcny says the companv is "figuring about S100,000" in darnages.

Logan Lurnber's downstairs officcs had to be gutted and the hardware store and door shop were clarnaged whcn 5 ft. of water flooded the area.

House of Moulding sustained several thousand dollars in lost salcs levenue aftcr the Sparks industrial area i.r a: closcd lbl tu o da1 s.

In Reno, Nv., B&C Builders Supply was hit with zl ft. of water in its yard and 7" in its sales offlce.

And Contractors' Warehouse. Reno, was flooded by 2 fi. of water.

In Northern California. more than 100,000 had to evacuate their homes and busincsses when rivers surgcd to tbod levels.

In Yuba City and Marysville. Ca.. located near the Feather River. the worst California 1'looding since 1986 clairned 1'our lives and forccd the cvacuation of 5-5,000 people.

NorCal Moulding. Marysville. was hit with 8 ft. of water in the plant, while the upstairs offices remained undamaged.

Co-owner Bud Perkins said lumber floated away and was found in a fivemile radius. "One unit we found sitting perfectly intact on the roof of a house." Retrieving it often required "carrying it by hand a couple hundred yards," he added.

In addition, 75Vo of the lumber had to be redried, and machinery will have to be pulled apart and dried.

Bill Hensley, NorCal's grinder man, had lived behind the plant in a trailer "as sort of a watchman" until the flooding destroyed his trailer.

Story at a Glance

Storms plague building products businesses in five western states ... closures, extensive damage.

Hensley, who was due to retire in March, was able to escape with a motorhome and fifth wheel. "At least he has somewhere to stay," Perkins added. Hensley opted for early retirement.

Tom Williams Jr.. owner of Yuba River Moulding and Pacific Millwork Inc., said both companies had sustained "substantial damage" when 812 ft. of water flooded the offices and yards.

Yuba River had 20 truck and trailerloads float away in the flooding. Four were recovered. Out of the 160 Yuba River and 30 Pacific Millwork employees, 80 Yuba River and 10 Pacific Millwork workers remained on a call-back basis until early February when the plants were to be rebuilt and reopened in the same location.

Four Yuba River employees and one Pacific Millwork worker sustained damage to their homes, including Wendell Findley, Yuba River set-up man, whose home had water up to his roof.

Nearby, Homewood Truss, Marysville, Ca., was inundated with 10" of water in its offices and 8 ft. in its production area, forcing the company to shut down for two days.

A similar devastation was experienced by Medallion Millwork, Inc., Marysville, when 2-ll4 ft. to 4-Ll2 ft. of water flooded its offices and 100,000-sq. ft. plant. Two trucks of finished materials were ruined and 30 truckloads of lumber had to be redried.

According to president Richard Scheuble, the plant was up and running 48 hours after employees were permitted back into the area.

"We had 70 people working 24 hours a day to begin shipping product to our customers." he said. "Vietnam was a good experience and so was this, but I wouldn't want to go back to Vietnam nor would I want to go through the floods again."

Truckee-Tahoe Lumber, Truckee, Ca., was hit by more than 16" of water in the yard. Replacement of damaged materials, including plywood and sheetrock, is estimated at $1,000.

In Humboldt County, Pacific Lumber Co., Scotia, Ca., established a reload operation in Willits, Ca., following a tunnel cave-in on the Northwestern Pacific Railroad. The company first trucked lumber to Willits and then re-loaded it onto rail cars.

In Kingston, Wa., heavy snowfall followed by a drenching rain caused the roofs of two buildings to collapse at Kingston Lumber Supply Co.

Fortunately, due to threatening weather, inventory had been taken two days prior to the storm, said Rick Waggoner, personnel mgr. and coowner. "If we had not done inventory on Friday and Saturday, we would have had 6-8 people in the buildings at the time they caved in," he said. "We feel very lucky."

The materials stored in the two buildings were temporarily moved to a another building that was near completion at the time.

At Lake Chelan True Value & Building Supply, Manson, Wa., the roof of a 20,000-sq. ft. long steel building, with an estimated value of $1 million, collapsed under the weight of 4 ft. of snow. Temporary shop was set up in nearby Chelan.

Edmonds Lumber & Hardware, Edmonds, Wa., sustained $75,000 to $100,000 damage when the roof of its storage barn collapsed, causing the sprinkler system to flood the building. Materials replacement is estimated at $30,000 and the barn is valued at $50,000-$60,000.

"We had a loss of business from the barn, but we sold out the first day on anything to do with the snow," said general mgr. Denny Davis.

In Bremerton, Wa., Eagle Hardware & Garden sustained cosmetic damage to its store and could not serve customers following the closure of a main bridge.

At Boise Cascade, Emmett, Id., the planer operation was flooded, causing a power outage that forced a two-day closure of the plant. Replacement of machinery and eroded fill near the mill will cost about $40,000-$50,000. Lost sales are estimated at $500.000.

Sav On Discount Building Materials, Payette, Id., lost 30Vo of its inventory when 2 ft. of water flooded the warehouse. Owner Jake Jacobs plans on leaving the damaged pallets intact until spring. "It's not over for the season," he predicts.

Economy Roofing & Supplies, Council, Id., suffered a power outage over 2-3 days, halting all deliveries.

In Woodinville, Or., Boise Cascade lost two roofs on smaller sheds and half of a bigger shed when heavy snow forced their collapse. The sheds' replacement value is estimated at $1 million.

In addition, the roof truss beam of a Boise Cascade plant in Yakima, Wa., was also "stressed" by heavy wet snow. According to Al Scharf, risk management, the beam "requires extensive repairs."

Two A-Boy Supply stores in Portland, Or., sustained minor roof damage from fallen trees.