Posted on 02/04/2008 4:42:28 AM PST by justa-hairyape
In Idahna, Ore., there is so much snow, residents' roofs are starting to collapse. The mayor has requested that Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski declare the area a state of emergency and send help.
Eighteen inches of snow fell in the last 24 hours on top to 6 feet of snow already there, Idahna Mayor Karen Clark said Sunday.
There is literally nowhere to put the snow.
"We have buildings with snow on them in danger of collapsing. Snow around doors in danger of bursting, some homes have already sustained damage," Clark said.
The town does not have the resources to deal with so much snow, according to the mayor.
Oregon State Corrections sent inmates in to help, but they need heavy equipment to get the snow off of road ways and homes.
“We are out of room and snow plowing money so are in danger of having to suspend snow plowing of the streets. Our citizens have now become in imminent danger as a result. We are also concerned about the citizens of Marion County that are out of our city limits and we are unable to help," Clark said.
"We are asking the Governor of Oregon for an immediate Declaration of State of Emergency and the National Guard to come in with heavy equipment.”
I live 11 miles north of Wasilla, AK, about 51 road miles north of Anchorage, its technically the interior, its dry here but not as frigid as the far interior like Delta Junction.
Down in the valley its just been raining. I don’t know about this town but a lot of towns here are not set up to deal with snow. There aren’t enough plows, dump trucks and no salt.
It was strange moving here and finding that at times, there are no passable roads going into or out of Oregon and Washington except along the coast.
Can you see the Alaskan Range to the north west ?
The flooding out here can be bad - like in Nov. just south of Seattle. Most of the late fall we just get rain, but sometimes we do get a big snow but then it turns back to rain and the rain combined with the snow melt and rushes down the rivers (like getting four days of rain in one day!)
The flooding in the spring (or whenever it warms up) will depend more on a quick rise in temperature combined with rains. However, with a larger snowpack the length of time it will take to melt is longer which raises the odds (pretty likely) that we will have plenty of T.V. stations showing the “salmon swimming over the roadway” clip.
“How do the people of Oregon feel about the Marines and the military at large? Just wondering...”
In the huge floods south of Seattle last November the main reaction I saw is how folks helped each other out. While Seattle is very liberal, the flood area is rural and farming community. One farmer from the other end of the state came down on his vacation with his family and they just found some farmer to help for the week.
I was in a store and one guy was joking with the other about when he was going to help him dig out from all the mud. The other guy laughed and said something like as long as I can use your shovel ‘cuz I wore mine out. Then in seriousness said “I’m almost done at my place, so I can come over and give you a hand”. The other farmer replied “Nah - I was just teasing. Actually this week is “clean the tools” week - but maybe next week I’ll be digging and could use your help.”
It was AMAZING to see these guys in good humor. There was 2 to 3 feet of mud everywhere, and I’m sure that much of their properties and livelyhood had been destroyed. Even nearby farmers that had equipment had a hard time getting it to folks that needed help. But they were helping each other to get it done.
One of the news articles had some guy saying about FEMA - “that will be great once we get a FEMA check that can help us rebuild, but digging out has to happen NOW and no way can the government do it faster than we can ourselves.”
Here is some data on Washington state snowpack levels for various area. All in inches. Current, Avg. Annual, and last years. This year is 150% to 200% above average. Last year’s levels were above average as well.
Site .............Current.... Avg...... Last Year
HURRICANE RIDGE.....129 .......78......... 95
MT BAKER ...........175...... 124 ........150
STEVENS ............135 .......87......... 95
SNOQUALMIE .........130 .......79......... 82
STAMPEDE ...........133....... 87 .........89
MISSION .............51 .......40......... 47
CRYSTAL .............97....... 59......... 77
PARADISE ...........169 ......132 ........125
WHITE PASS .........110....... 52......... 60
TIMBERLINE .........177...... 118........ 115
MEADOWS ............173 .......97......... 98
 |
Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Oregon Ping List.
Unfortunately, it looks like we are going to get hit again this evening. They are calling for heavy rain, wind gusts in excess of 50mph, possible hail, and the chance of tornadoes.
There's a House in Here Somewhere! - Feb. 3, 2008 - Rudy Rozman clears snow from the roof of a friend's home in Crested Butte, Colo., on Sunday, Feb. 3, 2008. (AP Photo/ Nathan Bilow)
West Buried by Snow - Over 5 Feet in Colorado
- Six states have reported two feet or more of snow in the last 3 days, with over five feet at Wolf Creek, Colorado (SkiReport.com).
- Before this week's snow storm, Colorado's snowpack was already at 11-year record highs
Our city has building code requirements that include special attention to making sure the roofs meet minimum standards for pitch and weight bearing capacity. The standards are reasonable considering that annual snowfall here averages 40 inches. Snow is 4 inches of the 17 inches of annual liquid water precipitation that we get here. Not all that different from San Diego. I'm at 4600 ft elevation. Most of the snow here is like granulated sugar. Summers are warm (86 to 104) with very low humidity.
There's plenty of time to enjoy the scenery as you sit in traffic jams all morning and evening. I'm thrilled to have a couple feet of snow on my lawn. I don't have to water or cut it this time of year.
The key is to never drive the freeways during a week day. I have stopped doing that for the past 5 years. We do have some of the worse drivers in the world around here now though. I almost get in an accident every time I go to the local store.
On a clear day I can barely see that far, if I was in Anchorage I can see Denali, its like 14,00feet(?) and like 175 miles away I think, also I can see a volcanic range from Anchorage where a volcano erupted in 1992 but where i live no such luck, too much trees and hills.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.