Pacific Northwest Floods Ravage Industry

Early February floods in parts of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana damaged thousands of homes and businesses. with dollar losses in the hundreds of millions.

President Clinton declared northern Oregon, southern Washington and northern Idaho federal disaster areas, after flooding caused eight deaths and closed dozens ofroads.

Clark Lumber & True Value Hardware, Tualatin, Or., was hit by 2 feet of water in its store and 3 to 4 feet in the yard. It had little warning. "We were watching the waters rise, but the last time it flooded in I914 it came within 50 to 100 feet of the yard. We figured even if it came (into the store) it would be I or 2 inches, not 1 or 2 feet," explained manager Dave Hess.

He estimated damage and losses at "$200,000 and still counting," including desks, phone system, sheetrock and plenty of lumber.

"We had a 6-foot cyclone fence around the yard, and after a day of high water, it finally broke," Hess said. "We had lumber strewn for at least a mile. Now for five days we've been scrambling to find it before people can claim it as their own. We've gone out in boats, flippers, forklifts and trucks."

Residents and even other yards volunteered to help.

The store officially reopened after nearly a week of "sort of selling and donating things like cleaning products, bleach, trash bags, rags, brooms and squeegees" while mopping up.

Workers removed the bottom two shelves from every display and rack, washing them and the products that could be salvaged, and replacing them.

Although the Krueger Lumber Yard Inc., Oregon City, Or., experienced higher waters, the company received earlier warning to brace itself. "The Lord was really looking out for us," said owner Ardy Osborn. "And we had experience from the flood 30 years ago to look back on."

Two days before 5 feet of water flooded its yard and 2,500-sq. ft. hardware store, the staff and l0 volunteers worked 13 hours until 3:00 a.m., moving the shop's entire inventory upstairs. They returned the next day to dismantle and move all the racks.

The warehouse was not as fortunate, although the expensive hardwoods and other big-ticket items were moved safely to higher, drier shelves. Sheetrock and other wood products were lost, and, after two days underwater, the entire yard must be regraded and regraveled.

Mills faced equally dramatic conditions. Near RSG Forest Products' Beaver Lumber mill. Clatskanie, Or., flood waters flowed over the top of and eventually broke through a dike, submerging the mill in 12 to 15 feet of water. The rising waters toppled lumber stacks, leaving about 70Vo of the mill's cedar fencing floating around in the dike area.

Employees in boats were able to corral most of the inventory. Yet two weeks later, the mill was still flooded, waiting for engineers to plug a 60foot breach in the dike and begin pumping out the water. lf you enioy folking lumber wilh people who know how it's produced, where it's producad, ond who produces il, coll us. We hqve over 150 yeors'experience ol your disposol.

But sales manager Greg Mobley said restarting the mill would be difficult even if it were dry, since collapsed, washed-out highways made the area virtually unreachable.

The company is compensating for the downtime by having the Beaver Lumber crew work nightshift at its Gram Lumber Co. mill, Kalama, Wa. During the heavy rains, Gram Lumber workers had enough time to move machinery motors to the second floor, surviving up to 5 feet of water.

Alder Creek Lumber Co., Inc., Portland, Or., temporarily closed all operations due to flooding, with reportedly 3 feet of water in its sawmill.

The flooding should have a serious affect on demand for repair and replacement products, as well as the lumber supply. "It's really had an impact on our ability to get logs," said Glenn Beall, plant manager of Stimson Lumber Co.'s Forest Grove mill, Gaston, Or. "With all the slides, we can't get people into the woods. It will be a couple of months to get all the roads cleared and replaced."

Washington governor Mike Lowery called the flooding "clearly the most expensive natural disaster in the history of the state - at least $300 million, at least 2,600 residences lost."

Jeffrey A. Locke is now gen. mgr. of Chemonite programs for J.H. Baxter, San Mateo, Ca. Ronald A. Stephens, ex-Copeland Lumber, is new to sales.

Larry HaIl has been appointed products mgr. of particleboard, MDF, and mouldings at Cooley Forest Products, Phoenix, Az.

Mike Roach, formerly of Reid & Wright, is selling finger-joint products at Eel River Sawmills, Inc., Redcrest, Ca.

Ed Maher has been named gen. mgr. of Snavely Forest Products' sales and distribution facility in Phoenix, Az.

Kent Bond has been appointed exec. v.p. of AII-Coast Forest Products, Chino, Ca. Joe Tidwell has taken early retirement after 2l years with the company. At Cloverdale, Ca., Steve Bernardi is now co-gen. mgr. and operations mgr. and Greg Goman, co-gen. mgr. and sales mgr.

Roger Allen has opened Rolling Bay Timber Co., Rolling Bay, Wa.

Dennis Yan Laningham, ex-Timberline Industries, is now mgr. of Lacy Forest Products, Portland, Or., specializing in domestic and export industrial and domestic contractor sales.

Doug Hart has been named v.p.-sales and mktg. at OrePac Building Products, Wilsonville, Or. Craig tr'letcher, exHillside Sash & Door, is now general mgr. Frank Franciscovich, general mgr. of the Spokane, Wa., facility, has retired, but remains a consultant.

Duane McDougall is now group v.p.building materials for Willamette Industries, Inc., Albany, Or. John LeFors, has been named group v.p.building materials sales. Bill Black replaces Lefors as v.p,-particleboard and MDF manufacturing.

Mike Caldwell, formerly of the American Forest & Paper Association, has been named director of technical services for the American Institute of Timber Construction, Englewood, Co.

Melody Sprang, Sandy Bacon and Howard Cornell have joined the inside order department at Carroll Moulding Co., Huntington Beach, Ca.

Larry Mercer, pres. of the Northeast Division of Home Depot, Atlanta, Ga., has been appointed exec. v.p. Jim Inglis, exec. v.p.-strategic development, has taken a leave of absence for six months.

Paul McKay has been named pres. of Contact Lumber Co., Portland, Or.

Rich Chapman has been appointed national sales mgr. of James Hardie Building Products, Inc., Mission Viejo, Ca. Bret A. Berg is mktg. mgr.

Paul Mackie is western area mgr. for the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association, based in the new Seattle/Tacoma, Wa., office.

Michelle Menkens, ex-Belco. is new to MacMillan Bloedel, Tacoma, Wa.

R. Dale Lausch, pres./c.o.o. and director of Universal Forest Products, Inc., has resigned after 23 years with the company. Elizabeth A. Bowman, cfo, has been appointed exec. v.p.-finance and administration and Matthew J. Missad, v.p. and general counsel, is exec. v.p.-operations services.

John llanson is now production mgr. for Simpson Door Co., McCleary, Wa. Keith Matheney is now gen. mgr. of Louisiana-Pacific's western division. Samoa, Ca.

John Kerr, ex-Weyerhaeuser Co., is new to sales and mktg. at Landmark Forest Products, San Bemardino, Ca.

Jerry Foote and Eric Olson are new to sales at Sunset Moulding Co., Live Oak, Ca.

David Bowman, son of Joe Bowman, Bowman Lumber Sales, Cloverdale, Ca., is a new programmer with the log scaling dept. of Sierra Pacific Industries, Redding, Ca.

Charley Willett, ex-Oregon Cedar Product, is new to the mill sales group of Hampton Lumber, Portland, Or.

Mike McClelland, pres./ceo, HWI, is chairman-elect of the National Association of Wholesalers-Distributors.

Karl Drexel has returned from a No. Ca. promotional tour for his new book, ?fte Politically In-Correct Cookbook;The Facts, Fantasies and Fallacies of the Endangered Species Act.

Gary Malfatti and David Ponts, Morgan Creek Forest Products, Santa Rosa, Ca.. are back from Fence Tech '96 in Las Vegas, Nv., which hosted about 250 exhibitors and over 15,000 buyers. Greg Mobley, RSG Forest Products, Gram Lumber and Beaver Lumber, Krlama, Wa., was a speaker at the show.

Raymond Slattery is now mfg. mgr.foam plastics group for Celotex, Tracy, Ca. Gary Esch is mfg. mgr. of the gypsum & paper group, Cody, Wy.

Jeff Squires is now heading a Woodland, Ca., office for Western Woods Inc., Chico, Ca. Mark Dirk is new to panel products and EWP sales at Chico Hq.

Brian Hartman, Chip McHenry and John Bozeman are new to sales at Reid & Wright, Broomfield, Co. Merle Winterroth is now operations mgr. and Kathy Pligsa, mktg. rep.

Claude "Scotty" Scott, WisconsinCalifomia Lumber, is back in Redding, Ca.. after a Hawaiian Islands vacation.

Norman and Angie Kruckenberg, OK Lumber, Anchorage, Ak., have been elected 1996 Business Leaders of the Year by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Associated Students of Business.

Joseph Rovik is western regional sales mgr. for Kuehn Bevel, Tucson, Az.

Mike Stonebrink, Rosenberg Builders Supply, Tillamook, Or., was honored for 20 years with the co. Rick Tippin was named Employee of the Year.

Barbara Quattrocchi, 67, wife of Frank Quattrocchi, retired from Evergreen Lumber & Molding, Orange, Ca., will again cycle from Los Angeles to San Francisco in the 500-mile, weeklong California AIDS Ride beginning June 2, her 40th wedding anniversary.

Melton Snow is winter specialties mgr. at Mungus-Fungus Forest Products, Climax, Nv., according to owners Hugh Mungus and Freddy Fungus.