THE FLOOD DISASTER

I\TINE YEARS AGO, on December 22, f \ fSSS, a devastatine flood struck northern California and the Northwest spreading death and d,estruction of almost unbelievable magnitude in its wake.

Nine years later to the very day, on December 22, 1964, we all were witness to what may well become the strangest and cruelest phenomenon of nature in modern times, for it was on this tragic day just three days before Christmas that flood waters crashed down streams, creeks and rivers on a rampage that {ar surpassed the disaster of 1955. In the words of veteran newspaperman Don O'Kane, publisher oI the Humboldt Standard and the Humboldt Tim.es, "This is the worst disaster in the historv of northern Cali- fornia and the Northwest, possibly even the entire United States." And right he may well be because on just the second day of the floods the disaster was termed "worse than the Alaska Quake oL 1964" by government civil defense officials.

Hundreds of families who survived the Christmas floods of 1955, w,ere once again forced to spend Christmas in the bleak surroundings of hastily formed disaster shelters, many of them separated from their loved ones, many of th,em without anything except the clothes on their backs.

With some areas still cut ofi by washouts and heavy snow, preliminary estimates of damage in California alone are exceeding 500 million dollars. Damage estimates to public and private property in Oregon are soaring past the 300 million dollar mark, Washington and Idaho are also reporting heavy damage to private property and transportation facilities.

While damage to several mills was stag' gering, notably at the big Pacific Lumber Company complex at Scotia where company officials estimate damage may run as high as 7 million dollars, the big blow to northern California's lumber industry is transportatior. The Northwestern Pacific railroad linking Humboldt County pro' ducers to the national market suffered incredible damage to its line north of Willits.

Tunnel cave-inso track washouts and collapsed bridges will prevent any use of the Iine north of Willits for at least 6

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HEART RENDING SIGHT of what was once the prosperous sawmill of Eel River Sawnrill Company near the mouth of the Eel. Plant was virlually destroyed as photo wrll attest, but here again owners talk of rebuilding. Highway 101 is at extreme bottom of picture, littered with logs, lumber and debris.

CRESCENT CITY HAR80R presented enormous salvage job when millions and millions of board feet of logs from Eer ano Klamath rivers were swept into the bay trapping fishing vessels and in general creating havoc.

The Ftood Disaster

(Continued lrom Page 6) months, maybe even 8 months or more, according to company officials. Hazardous flying weather prevented even a look at some of the trouble spots until r'ecently, according to Morrison & Knudsen engineers who have been awarded the hugc' job of rebuilding the line.

An ominous glimpse of the whole picture here is that nearly 75 percent of the production in Humboldt and Del Norte Counties r.eaches the market over this line.

Road Washouts

Another stunning blow to the industry' was the complete washout of all roads and highways leading into the area. Although Eureka and Arcata escaped with only minor storm damage, the area is in essence an island. Highway I0l north was severed and then the big highway bridge crossing the Klamath literally dissolved in the raging flood waters. To the south, the highway comes to an abrupt halt at Alton where half of a big cantilever span dropped into the Eel River and a few miles south where flood waters undcrcut the Rio Dell approach to the Scotia bridge. The last remaining way out, highway 299 to Redding, is closed "indefinitely" with several smaller bridge rvashouts and massive highway destruction between Berry Summit and Willow Creek.

Although highway engineers refuse to hazard a guess as to when these routes can be opened, Iocal "guesstimates" range from two to four months before any o{ thc three routes can accommodate any appreciable flow of truck traffic.

In addition, a mammoth slide at Cummings, between Leggett and Laytonville, has all the appearances of being almost beyond repair.

W'ater and air will remain the only access to the area for the foreseeable future, water ofiering some relief to mills shipping green lumber to the Los Angeles market, but only a nightmare to dry lum. ber producers, many of whom have made that expensive experiment in the past.

Farther north in Oregon it's much the same story-unbelievable damage to highways and literally hundreds of miles of logging roads washed out or unusable. Although many mill operations were crippled by high water, here again the lack of access roads to timber stands is the prime problem. Pope & Talbot's mill at Kalama sufiered extensive water damage and across the river at Oregon City Publishers Paper Co. estimated damage is two million dollars. BCK Co., also at Oregon City, was badly flooded and lost most of its Iumber inventory and log deck. Other victims of hieh water included Crown Zellerbach at West Linn and Hanel Mill at Hood River.

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