As director of education at the Humane Society for 26 years I am continually being educated. For several years I've brought animal issues to the table at meetings of the Pierce County Citizens Corps Council, which provides the framework for volunteer support in disaster situations. For the past year I have been the Humane Society's designated disaster response coordinator, working with other members of the Pierce County Animal Response Team. Along with my wife, Dixie, we recently toured the aftermath of the Chehalis flood of December, 3, 2007.
     I would have to say that visiting the area and spending time with the people who lived through that disaster was one of the most important, and touching, learning experiences I have had. The flood victims, whose lives have been forever altered, were, to a person, amazingly uplifting. Not one person we visited complained, said, "poor me" or "Why did this happen to us?" We saw people in the worst of conditions smiling, laughing, praising neighbors and friends, and rebuilding with hope in their hearts and minds.
     Disasters can take many forms. Too often they strike without warning, and some can increase in severity without warning. That is why we all need to have a plan. Every family needs to be prepared for a disaster. This includes preparation for your companion animals, house pets such as cats, dogs, birds, small mammals and large animals, horses, cattle, goats, sheep, llamas, pigs, etc.

     There are many local resources available, through the American Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Pierce County's Department of Emergency Management, your local municipality, and at the Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County.
     As part of the Pierce County Animal Response Team, the Humane Society is working with representatives from animal rescue groups such as Mutt Shack Washington and Washington State Animal Response Team (WASART), from Pierce County's Department of Emergency Management (DEM), and others, to formulate a disaster response plan, to help people prepare and respond to disasters, and help ease their impacts.
      Because of the large scale of some disasters, this effort requires neighboring counties to be ready to step up and help each other. A leader in this process is David Friedman, an experienced Red Cross responder and Katrina animal rescuer. David, from Monroe, has donned the mantle of responsibility for bringing Pierce County into the forefront of emergency animal response in Washington.
     In a large disaster, some animals will become separated from their families, and will need help. Effective, emergency, community, animal response is what we are working to achieve - for farm animals as well as house pets. And it requires the whole community; everyone must prepare.
     The most recent disaster in western Washington was the catastrophic flooding of December 3. It affected several counties, but particularly Lewis County, where the Chehalis River inundated some areas with unbridled and unchecked flooding - floods from which residents are still months - perhaps years - away from full recovery. While this flood may now be a forgotten memory for many of us not affected, some farmers and other rural residents fifty miles south of us are coping with no crops, no drinkable water, no sewer services, in some cases, uninhabitable houses, and they mourn the loss of their animals.
     The raging waters of the Chehalis River rose so fast people had to scramble to save what, and whom, they could. Their surviving farm animals have no feed. Last year's harvest is soaked and molding; this year's fields are, like everything else, buried under a thick, slowly-drying, layer of mud. It will be another winter before some can expect a crop of hay.
     As part of our work, we asked to tour the flooded areas with the worst impacts. Residents kept comparing this one with the flood of 1996, saying even that disaster did not reach the proportions that this "100-year event" did.

     This is a recounting of our tour. Our group was led by Patty Kaija, owner of Kaija's, Inc., a third-generation pet supply store and nursery in Chehalis, that has also stepped up in the face of disaster. Patty is the founder of Friends of the Lewis County Animal Shelter (FOLCAS.org).
      Earlier this month my wife, Dixie, and I rendezvoused with the others at Patty's store in Chehalis. Driving through some areas now, there seems to be little evidence of the flood. Suddenly, we notice the fences appear to be clothed with a dirty mixture of dead grass and mud. The further up the valley we go, the more the thick, red silt from the flood becomes apparent. Bulldozed in farmyards, in other places it is cracking like a desert landscape, but it is far from dry.
     The rapid torrent killed an estimated fifteen hundred cattle, many other farm animals, and countless wild animals. An accurate count of animal deaths is impossible. Many lost small numbers of pets or livestock which weren't reported to officials or counted. The flood caused millions of dollars in property damage in Lewis County, and changed the course of many lives.
     Heading west on Highway 6 toward the headwaters of the Chehalis River, we soon begin to see just how devastating this event has been, and continues to be, for the farmers and residents of this scenic, rural area.
Patty is by now a friendly face to the residents; she has brought help and resources numerous times. We were all glad that she was leading our tour; the residents were expecting her, and were more willing to greet us and open up about their ordeal.
     While seeing first-hand the extent of flood damage, we were inspired by the pluck and spirit of the local farmers who are in the process of restoring their lives and livelihoods. High winds, heavy rains and mudslides - many on recently clear-cut slopes - resulted in a red torrent that sent the Chehalis over its banks, taking out bridges, racing across farms and catching residents by surprise with the speed and ferocity with which the water rose. The stories emerging are all about neighbors and volunteers pulling together to survive and rebuild, in the face of nature's awesome power.
      The victims complained little, and talked instead of how lucky they were in some instances. They were smiling, laughing and coping courageously in spite of the lack of basic services such as running water and electricity. Portable toilets are everywhere.

      Dill and Sue Griffith had moved from Wales to their small farm in Lewis County to enjoy their retirement years and tend to their beloved animals. On December 3, they lost all eight of their llamas and an emu, and barely got out themselves. Most of the animals' bodies were not recovered, and are believed to be tangled in the huge morass of debris amassed along the river's banks.
      The Griffiths (Dill is confined to a wheelchair) and their companion animals - several small dogs and cats - were airlifted by helicopter from the roof of their house above the back door. A parrot, cat and bearded dragon lizard left behind upstairs for two days survived the ordeal.

      Sue is thankful that most of her companion animals were saved - some apparently by clinging to debris and treading water for hours - but still grieves for her farm animals that perished in the flood. Relief funds have paid for a new modular home placed beside their ruined farmhouse, but like so many others in this farming community, their water and septic systems have yet to be restored.

      Many non-profits and agencies have stepped up to assist the flood victims, including churches, Future Farmers of America, 4-H Clubs and Washington State University Cooperative Extension Offices. Neighboring residents have come by to offer meals and baked goods, the use of heavy equipment and animal fostering. But on December 3rd, waters rose so swiftly that only quick and decisive action by the residents themselves saved the day. Even then, some pasture animals that had been driven to higher ground early in the day turned around and returned to their barns, only to drown as the waters rose.

      The Nelson family dairy farm managed to save most of their herd of Holstein cows and a bull, and even provided rescue and support for their neighbors. As the rain grew heavier, Mary Nelson called her friend, an elementary school teacher, warning her not to attempt to reach the school that day. Mary said she knew this was going to be much worse than the 1996 flood.
      But her teacher friend drove toward work anyway, only to become trapped by the swirling torrent when her car became flooded. Calling Mary on her cell phone and in tears, panic gripping her voice, the teacher cried, "I should have listened to you! I'm stranded at the crossing!"
      Gary Nelson managed to drive his tractor to within a short distance of her, calling out that if he went any further, his tractor would also become flooded and they would all be stranded. She managed to leap across the gap from her car to his tractor, where he hoisted her aboard, and drove them to safety.

      A neighbor woman and her six-year-old son on the other side of the Nelsons' property were alone after her husband left for work. At some point he called Mary and said he couldn't get back home. She told him he had to figure out a way as his family was in very real danger.
      Somehow he got home and the family climbed atop the roof of their newer home, where water lapped at the eaves. They waited for six hours before being rescued by helicopter. This family had three horses which had found high ground. However, when the helicopter came the horses panicked and ran away. One horse was found and had to be euthanized because of water in its lungs. The other two have never been found.

      Paul Price and Pam Howard, built their dream home just two years earlier. They had recently completed construction on a beautiful horse arena and were in the stalls with the horses, considering how best to get their animals to safety as the water streamed in. Suddenly, Pam felt a surge of water, pulling like a river's current, rush through the breezeway between the stalls and the arena. She called out, "Paul, we've got to get the animals out of here, now!"
      Quickly, they led their horses and a pony to higher ground, but not before a harrowing experience Pam will never forget. As she walked one of the last horses toward safety, she suddenly felt a huge slab of floating county road pavement hit her and the horse.
      Pam instinctively curled into a fetal position because she knew the horse was going to fall on her. She felt her struggling horse's body pressing her against a barbed wire fence, and began to fear for her life. Suddenly, a voice in Pam's head said, "You're stronger than that."
      She grasped the barbed wire, badly cutting her hands, and pulled herself up and forward with the flow. As this was happening, she remembers feeling "rodents" swimming by latch onto her for their own survival. She flung them off, thinking to herself for a brief second, they would have to find some other "island" to cling to. Eventually, she and the horse were trudging safely uphill.

Flooded Dreams...

     The lower floor of the dream home of Paul Price and Pam Howard was under water, up to the mid-line of the windows seen here, and marked by the small, pink tab on the window at far right.

      The beautiful new home built by Paul and Pam had six feet of water inside which ruined most of their furniture. Pam said she is trying to salvage a few antique pieces. Their carpeting was destroyed and all walls had to be repainted. Everyone was amazed the windows in the house withstood the pressure of all the water. Two big leather sofas washed up on the far end of Pam and Paul's property. They have no idea where they came from or who they belonged to.

      Heading further along the county road, we come to a surreal scene: massive sections of the blacktop road are gone. We look out across a field to our right, where green grass pushes up through the mud. There, scattered randomly across the field like giant black lily pads, are thin, irregularly-shaped pieces of pavement, some of them twenty feet or more in length, the center line providing a splash of yellow here and there.

 Creamery Logo Embodies Spirit...

      Along a road in a wide-open section of the valley, Meg Gregory and her family operate the Black Sheep Creamery. Their hand-crafted sheep milk cheeses are sold at farmers' markets in Olympia, Puyallup and Seattle, among others.
      The Gregorys' ninety-nine sheep were all in the barn on the raised floor when the family members were rescued by jet boat from their house. The floodwaters rose rapidly, picking up their "cheese room" and carrying it across the driveway.
      Just as quickly, the waters receded. When the family returned the next day, they found seventy-six of their herd drowned, most of them still up on the raised barn floor. Those that survived did so by standing atop the bodies of the others. Most of their hay was spared, as it was in the barn loft. Meg said if they'd had more time, they would have built a "hay-bale ramp" up to the loft for the sheep to use. As it is, they are now planning to build a wide, wooden ramp to allow the animals a better escape route.
      A woman offered to take some of the sheep and foster them until the Gregorys had cleaned and prepared the farm for their return. Her offer included giving special care to Emily, a ewe who had a bad leg and had trouble standing due to being trapped under the bodies of the herd.

      Despite their tragedy, Meg Gregory epitomizes the positive spirit of the flood victims. Her ewes have provided a new generation of lambs, and she let us hold some of them, while talking openly about the fateful day the floodwaters rose, and about the struggle since them.
      She told us that on Christmas Eve day, she, "thought about getting depressed" by what had happened, and by the prospect of such a long road to recovery. Muck was everywhere, inside the house and outside.
The herd was decimated, and it would take another lambing season to rebuild and begin making cheese again. But then a woman came by with a plate of cookies she had baked for the Gregory family.
      And a group arrived who said they had a couple of hours and asked if they could shovel mud for them. Mud from inside the house was removed with snow shovels. Meg no longer thought about being depressed. Emily survived and has given birth to twins. Now the family is planning and gearing up for the new season. But more outside help is still needed.
      Meg has kept an Internet journal with photos which detail the terrible time of the flood and the optimism which keeps them going. Visit her site at www.blacksheepcreamery.com
      Hay to feed the surviving animals, and money to purchase hay, are still desperately needed. Stores of hay were submerged and ruined, bulldozed into molding mounds. Pastures, too, have been destroyed, and will not regrow this spring, since the fields are covered with a thick layer of red silt.

     Silt runoff, carried down the hillsides and the river channel by the raging Chehalis River during the December 3, 2007 Flood, completely covers this wide expanse of pasture.

      Though cracks are forming on the surface of the mud caked fields, they will still take months to dry out. Visit www.folcas.org to find out how to help struggling farmers feed and care for their animals, email pattyk@folcas.org  or call 360.508.0151. Donations can also be sent to Friends of the Lewis County Animal Shelter/Flood Relief, P.O. Box 1421, Chehalis, WA 98532.

     Miscellaneous Flood Recovery Photographs...

Brush Hog Crushed...

     The damage to Gary and Mary Nelson's new brush hog is yet to be determined, after flood waters dropped two massive beams on top of it. The couple had other pressing tasks to deal with first, and there is no brush growth to speak of this spring anyway, since most farmland still lies beneath a sea of mud.

Meg Gregory...

     Meg Gregory of Black Sheep Creamery displays tremendous optimism after the flood wiped out most of her prized flock of dairy sheep, so thankful that 23 of them, "saved themselves." She is already rebuilding, and plans to again sell her delicious sheep cheese this summer at popular farmers' markets in the King/Pierce/Thurston County area.

Surveying Some of the Damage...

     Gretchen McCellum and Greta Cook, both of Washington Animal Response Team out of Enumclaw, survey the flood damage as Patty Kaija of Friends of the Lewis County Animal Shelter returns to a residence.

Gravel is Expensive...

One large load of gravel - so vital to restoring normal farm activity at the Nelson home - $800.

Scary Bridge...

     One of the post-flood bridges spanning the Chehalis River, allowing residents access to their homes and farms.

Remains of Old Bridge on the Shore...

     Crossing the hastily-erected bridge over the Chehalis, we could see the remains of the original bridge on the far bank, one of several damaged or destroyed along the river.

Park Closed after Bridge Washed Out...

Rainbow Falls State Park remains closed after the entrance bridge was destroyed.

     An unintended launch. Visible here is a small bass fishing boat dislodged from its travel trailer, and landing on a bed of mud. Waters rose and fell so rapidly, that boats played a lesser role in rescue efforts during this disaster. But families and neighbors pulled together to help one another.

     Too heavy to flip, but not to float, blacktop road sections were amazingly carried upright by the torrent, peeling in sections from the road, and deposited in a nearby field.

Remains of the Road...

     The Chehalis River, swelled to many times the flow seen in this photo, displayed awesome power during the December flood, claiming bridge abutments, guardrails, concrete and blacktop, and tossing bits of them aside as river debris.

It's Yours if You Haul it Away...

     "Free. You Remove," is the message written on the farm shed carried by flood waters until it ran aground against the large fir tree, still somewhat usable.

Muddy Mailbox...

     Mud is everywhere. "Special Delivery." Waters rose so high that normal means of communication, such as the mailbox and the newspaper tube, were completely submerged. Mud still fills this mailbox, perhaps no longer used due to the residence becoming temporarily  uninhabitable.

Water Caused Massive Damage, but Could Not be Consumed...

     Supplies of emergency drinking water, provided by Anheuser-Busch, Inc., are stacked at an emergency operations center in the upper Chehalis River Valley. The recovery is still on-going, and help is still needed in terms of donations, volunteers and clean hay.