Re: [Paddlewise] Local Forecast

Hi Dave,

Thursday, December 6, 2007, 7:38:13 PM, you wrote:

>> Thought you might enjoy our latest Oregon Coast weather. (Dave
>> Kruger, do you still have internet service in Astoria?)

> Not then. Do now (three days later). Summary of how it went here:

And here, a bit further up the coast...

Though there was extensive damage from fallen trees and power lines, I
only heard of 2 roofs being blown off locally. We also lost the main
BPA feed, so now that it's back, we're starting to get power back to
the various communities here. My power came back on late last night
(off since just before midnight Sunday), but many others still
have a few days to wait for local power restoration.

My cell phone never stopped working, but the land lines were down
until yesterday.  I'm still having some funky problems with the land
line here, but the phone company claims that it's not their problem.

Since this house gets its water from an individual well, and it takes
electricity to run the pump, I've had no running water all week, until
the power came back on last night.  I had to collect water from the
creek that runs along the beach for toilet flushing water.

My cat loved this quiet week (and I didn't mind it either), as he
enjoyed, as usual, curling up by the fireplace, with no noise other
than the surf and occasional raindrops on the roof. I had stocked up
on plenty of drinking/cooking water, ice, candles, and other
necessities, so my experience was more like "camping in", which wasn't
so bad at all. Cooking on the wood stove and outdoor grill was fine.
After the first couple of days, I got in touch with a friend down the
coast a bit who didn't lose water pressure, and he also had a propane
"on demand" water heating system, so for the past few days, I've at
least been able to go over there for hot showers.

On Sunday night/Monday morning there were some terrible traffic
accidents, and the local grocery store (one of the very few businesses
open at all...running on generators) did have a problem with carbon
monoxide from their generators, and 20 people were sent to hospital
for treatment.

The main highways and roads to and from this coastal area were closed
for the first few days, due to all sorts of things; downed trees and
power lines, landslides, flooding, etc.

For those who did need special assistance, shelter, hot food, etc.,
they got help from neighbors, firehouses, and a couple of churches.
The larger firehouse at Pacific Beach hosted breakfast, lunch, and
dinner every day, and even provided activities/entertainment for kids
(movies, etc.). I volunteered to cook meals at that firehouse, so that
kept me busy for a couple of days. Besides sitting by the fireplace,
reading by candlelight, and a bit of paddling, there wasn't much else
to do around here. At least I got to paddle! I didn't, however, get to
work on re-varnishing the wooden boat.

All things considered, I do feel fortunate to have had all the
supplies I needed, and I really didn't mind the quiet, slower pace of
the week. Now I have a lot of catching up to do (lots of laundry and
dishes as well), so this coming week won't be so
quiet...unfortunately.

-- 
Melissa
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