A trip to the Cedar River…

Last Saturday the 17th, 17 volunteers and I converged on the Royal Arch Park in Maple Valley, WA to assist local homeowners in their flood recuperation efforts. This all started on Sunday the 11th when five members of Real Missions Disaster Response drove through the lower Cedar River Valley to assess flood damage and potential areas of response with our teams.

After visiting a couple of communities which seemed to be self sustaining we drove further up river and pulled over to the side of the road. We were on Maple Valley Highway SE around SE 207th St. As we got out of the vehicles we were amazed to see two homes completely surrounded by water as if they were a rock outcropping on a large waterfall. The access road to the homes was 3-4 feet deep and rafts and boats were used to get to cars. At this time a member of the community walked up the shoulder to greet us and introduced himself as the manager of the Royal Arch Park-a few hundred feet further south. We were able to get a thorough understanding of the seen and unseen effects of the flooding on his property and his neighbors’ properties as well.

The five of us knew this was “our” opportunity to help. On the week of the 11th we awaited the waters receding and word that our volunteers would be accepted. On Friday the 16th our good news came…we could bring a team in on Saturday the 17th.

At 9am on Saturday the 17th we had an inauspicious beginning with 5 volunteers. It never ceases to amaze me how every time one of these efforts are begun it seems the resources available do not measure up to the task. However, if one strides out anyway, more resources appear and enough!

Our initial involvement was with two separate families both of whom lived on the banks of the river. The first family lost half of their yard to the Cedar River. They had significant log and sand wash into their yard and their bank was now heavily exposed to erosion. Our first group started clearing the yard of treefall and debris which had washed in. Next they limbed a fallen maple tree and brought it back over to the bank. This was to become the initial phase of our temporary retaining wall for the bank of their yard.

Meanwhile, we had another group helping a man out whom because of his position on the river and in relation to the road/levee had his yard filled with thousands of pounds of river flotsam and debris. His property experienced severe washout, yet thankfully his house was mostly okay. The efforts here were firewood retrieval (nearly a cord had washed into a swamp), trash haulout, and hot tub removal. This gentleman and his neighbor both heat their homes with wood only. They both lost 90% of their cured wood supply. A typical winter is a 5 cord winter so the flood was a big setback. Ultimately, our team was able to save a cord of wood which unfortunately now has to season and cure because of water content. We were also able to salvage 4 railroad ties and 4 tires which were washed into his yard. These we log skidded to the first property as the main elements of our retaining wall project.

We also had another team retrieving 4,000 pounds of wood and fencing from brambles along the fenceline of another home. This was stacked and sorted for the owner so that they could determine the best use going forward.

Western Washington experienced heavy flooding up and down the state from the Nooksack in the North to the Lewis River in the South. Unfortunately, the majority of the Cedar River flooding was manmade from an Army Corps of Engineers release of 8′ of water from Mud Mountain Dam in Enumclaw. Our team of volunteers was highly effective in their help and they hope to make a difference in the future.

This was an opportunity to “travel” to somewhere close and be fully involved in the culture of the people we were helping and visiting with. When we travel we should desire to do the same things whether in our own land or afar off. So if you can’t afford the “afar off” option try travelling down Highway 169 (Maple Valley Highway) from Renton, WA to Enumclaw, WA. You will see a beautiful trees, rural settings and a pretty river named Cedar. As you view that river remember its beauty, the devastation which it temporarily caused, and the 18 volunteers who came together to help restore some folks who chose to live amongst this riparian setting.