The
INSIDE Letters
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 2
Sheriff’s Log
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3
Aging column
George Willis photo
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3
www.islandsweekly.com 360-376-4500
Islands’ eekly W
VOLUME 38, NUMBER 33 • AUGUST 18, 2015
The Big One, how it affects us By Constance See Special to the Sounder
Lopez Center
SAVE the DATE
Saturday, September 12th
for the 12th Annual
Lopez Home Tour
Visit 7 distinctive homes while benefiting the Lopez Center for Community & the Arts
T
his is your once a year chance to see parts of Lopez you never knew existed, including the charming Kip Robinson Greenthal Iowa-styled farmhouse pictured here. It was constructed in the 1880’s by the James Cousins family on 160 farmed acres. The home has changed hands only twice since Anne and Dwight Robinson purchased it in 1960 following Dwight’s declaration, upon walking through the fields and woods, that “This is my cathedral.” It was carefully restored by them through the years to the way it looked in 1900 photographs. Discover this place as you tour SIX OTHER distinctive homes on the Friendly Isle. Tour the Lexi and Kirm Taylor, Asha Lela, Ed and Diana Sheridan, Beth Shirk and Anne Hietbrink, Meg and Dennis Ryan, Curtis and Laura Walker homes. The self-guided tour begins at 11 AM and ends at 4 PM. Go it alone or leave your vehicle at the Center and car pool with friends. Delicious Lopez Village Market lunches will be available for $5 at the Center and at the Center between 9:30 AM and noon and at the Walker home. Home Tour tickets are $30 and available at the Lopez Center for the Community and the Arts (LCCA),Saturday Farmers Markets, Paper, Scissors on the Rock, Lopez Bookshop, and throughwww.lopezcenter.com. Home Tour income is vital for keeping LCCA event prices low so all Lopezians can enjoy the many and varied yearlong happenings.
www.lopezcenter.com
Is the Pacific Northwest at risk of a megaquake, magnitude 9.0 or greater or a devastating tsunami like Japan experienced in 2011? More than 15,000 died, 2,000 are still unaccounted for and thousands more were injured in that event. Last month author Kathryn Schulz penned a New Yorker article about “The Big One.” Based on recently discovered tree ring research in the Pacific Northwest, and a collection of oral histories, her material focused on the danger of the eerily quiet Cascadia subduction zone, running offshore from Mendocino, Calif., north to Vancouver Island. It last erupted 315 years ago, resulting in a new western U.S. coastline. Schulz went so far as to suggest that when the Cascadia zone does awaken, it will result in huge tsunami waves, and everyone along the Interstate 5 corridor will be “toast.” Paul Bodin and Bill Steele
are seismologists at the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network based at the University of Washington Seismology Lab. Utilizing more than 300 seismic monitors, PNSN keeps a careful eye on their territory, the states of Washington and Oregon, while sharing information with scientists around the globe. On July 31, Steele was interviewed on NBC Seattle’s “New Day Northwest” program stating a major earthquake and tsunami are coming to the Pacific Northwest.
Lopez Artists’
Studio Tour www.lopezstudiotour.com
Labor Day Weekend Lopez Center: Preview Gallery: Aug. 26 – Oct. 19 Opening Reception: Friday, Sept 4, 5-7 p.m.
Meet the artists!
His forecast window ranged from tomorrow to 50 years from now. Steele said within that time period, Washington state has a 15 percent chance of a magnitude 8 or 9. Southern Oregon’s risk he graded higher at 25 percent. On that same show, Steele suggested everyone prepare with storage food, medicine and water for at least two weeks, and at-risk communities should investigate building vertical evacuation towers. When interviewed by the Islands’ Sounder, Steele’s associate Bodin was less dramatic. He found the New York article to be “overblown” because “most of our populated areas are outside of the rupture zone.” “Cascadia is like a stuck window,” he said. “You wonder whether it’s painted shut. I keep a close eye on it. Any earthquake out there would really get our attention. We would be doing better if we had more offshore monitoring equipment.” Last December, Congress approved a $5 million increase in spending to upgrade the Shake Alert System, a prototype alert program using a series of 300 seismic monitors plus
Contributed photo
The Scripps Institute of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif. the software and hardware needed to process their data. When finished, it’s expected to cost about $30 million and require an additional $16 annually to maintain. “When this upgrade is complete, we should have information in seconds, not minutes,” Bodin said. The majority of seismic monitors he watches are on land, but a few are stationed off the coast of Oregon at the Hydrate Ridge, 60 miles away, and at the Axial Seamount Volcano, 300 miles west of Cannon Beach. Last fall, geologists Bill Chadwick and Scott Nooner announced a pending Axial eruption. When it spewed lava in April, their predictions were confirmed. A boatload of scientists will join them on a close-up visit to the Axial this month. While geologists are diving underwater looking for forecasting clues, geodesist Dr. Yehuda Bock is focusing on the skies. A tsunami risk assessment specialist SEE BIG ONE, PAGE 5
Rock Terra Lopez Center • Outdoor Concert
Saturday, Aug. 29th, 7:30 pm Adv. tickets $12/adult $5/youth Door $14/adult $6/youth Beer Garden PSR, Blossom, Lopez Bookshop, LCCA office & lopezcenter.org