Last December was not kind to the farmers of West Lewis County, where fields were caked in clayish sticky mud that slid down from the hills, and 700 dairy cows were among the 5,000 animals washed away in record flooding one year ago today.
Those numbers were reported in the last two weeks by county Farm Bureau President Ron Mauel and Patty Kaija, president of the Friends of the Lewis County Animal Shelter. Both organizations were part of the sweeping relief effort for dairies and vegetable farms to rebuild herds and get the valley ready for spring planting.
I would guess 80 percent of our land was put into crops this year — 100 percent hopefully next year, Mauel said at a recent press conference in Chehalis.
Kaijas organization helped deliver hay to keep the remaining animals fed.
We provided feed for eight months after the flood — 100 tons of hay and feed for the animals, Kaija said. We helped people find contacts as far as who to contact to remove the dead animals from the property.
Dairy farmer Pete Dykstra was one of those closest to the tragedy on that early Monday morning. Dykstra said he knew a flood was coming when he did the regular milking, but that was fairly normal for December and he never expected nine feet of water in his barn in Curtis.
In all, Dykstra lost 120 head in his herd, which was the result of 80 years of breeding, beginning with two cows his father purchased.
I left them out there to fend for themselves, Dykstra said. In about 15 minutes, it started coming up through the floorboards of the house … I was looking out the window and listening to my cows thrashing and dying. My wife finally grabbed me and took me to the other side of the house and said I wasnt allowed to come back and look.
Through donations, Dykstra has been able to build the beginnings of a new milk parlor and regain nearly half the stock, including a heifer named Emma, the last member of the original herd.
She wasnt far away, Dykstra said of the cow that was sold at consignment two years ago.
The Lewis County Holstein Club bought the heifer from a farm in Chehalis and donated her back to the Dykstra dairy. Two others donated from Raymond can be traced back to the herd, Dykstra said, and Emma is set to have a calf in the spring.
We had 200 head that traced back to the original two, Dykstra said. Now Ill start again and trace back to the original one. Eighty years of breeding and weve still got one.
The Black Sheep Creamery in Adna is also getting back to normal after losing about 75 sheep. Donations allowed the Gregory family to get new ewes and rams from Eastern Washington, Utah and as far away as Wisconsin.
We know to put down hay bales and let them climb stairs next time, said Meg Gregory.
For vegetable farmers, the major task was removing piles of woody debris and a thick coat of mud that rushed down in a massive rainfall in the Willapa Hills. The material soared down the Chehalis River and its tributaries to create logjams, breaking concrete bridges and causing water to spread to areas not previously known to flood.
The state Department of Natural Resources led the effort in getting most of the mud and wood off the fields. Public Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland offered flooded farmers a deal that would allow the state to hire contractors to remove and grind the wood and try to make up costs by selling pulp.
Some farmers took the states deal, while others chose to hire their own contractors. Last spring, a helicopter was used in the Boistfort Valley to pluck chunks of wood.
Pacific Cascade Region Manager Eric Schroff said the department worked with 20 landowners at a total cost of about $387,000. He said 95 percent of the material is gone, including the departments latest project at the biggest logjam north of Pe Ell.
The efforts were coordinated through a recovery task force assembled by Gov. Chris Gregoire. Keith Phillips, the governors environmental policy adviser, said the group met weekly in the months after the flood and now meets monthly.
Much of the work has been shored up, but we will be there if our assistance is needed in the future, Phillips said.
In its 2008 session, the state Legislature appropriated $1.3 million for the cleanup work, although costs came in much lower. Schroff, who oversaw most of the work, commended the community cooperation and resilience during the operation.
To the best of my knowledge, theres never been an effort like this. The thing that comes closest was the work that was done after the Mount St. Helens eruption, Schroff said. We need to record what we did this time so we can remember what to do the next time it happens.
Dan Schreiber: (360) 807-8239
