Near-record flood levels on state rivers were beginning to recede today, and weary residents are now beginning to mop up.
The flooding rivers in Lewis County are finally receding, allowing residents to begin the slow process of cleaning up the destruction.
The National Weather Service is fore- casting occasional showers through the weekend and a continued drop in the freezing level. The forecast is one that should help the swollen rivers drop back into their banks.
The Chehalis River at the Mellen Street Bridge in Centralia was the final river in this area to crest, at 6 P.m. Thursday, reaching 68.2 feet, 3.2 feet above flood stage, but short of the 70 feet the National Weather Service was predicting it would reach and well below the level of the 1990 flood, which topped 73 feet.
At 7:30 this morning, the river was down to 67.2 feet. Dave Campbell, the Chehalis city manager, said it appears the city fared well.
"Our biggest concern yesterday was watching the roads," he said. "Kresky Avenue was the big area. It had water over the road and we had to reduce it to one lane, but we didn't have to close it."
Campbell said from the city's perspective the flooding doesn't cause too many problems until it reaches 68 feet.
According to river levels from the county's Emergency Management Division, the river reached and stayed at that level for less than 24 hours.
A Red Cross emergency shelter at R.E. Bennett School in Chehalis was used by seven people Thursday night, many of those people coming from the Chehalis Avenue Apartments, according to Red Cross officials.
Several roads in Chehalis were closed, but residents seemed to be taking the flooding in stride.
One man leaned against a car on Louisiana Avenue looking toward his neighborhood on Shoreline Drive. Decked out in hip waders, he didn't seem too concerned, saying his home was fine. "I'm having fun," he joked.
The Chehalis River flooding closed Highway 12 near Rochester and several other streets in that area.
Officials with the Lucky Eagle Casino near Oakville closed the facility Thursday afternoon because of the flooding roads. In Centralia, the Skookumchuck River at the Pearl Street bridge crested at I 1 a.m. Thursday, as expected, but fell about a foot short of the 86 feet predicted by weather service officials. Flooding on the Skookumchuck occurs at 85 feet.
By 7:30 this morning, the river had dropped to 83.2 feet. Terry Calkins, director of the Community Development Department in Centralia, said the city experienced few problems.
City crews were assessing damage to city property today, but Calkins doesn't expect them to find anything major. The Cowlitz River, which caused the most destruction in the east end of the county and near Toledo, began to recede Thursday morning after cresting at 23.2 feet in Randle, breaking the 1910 record of 19.2 feet. The flood stage is 18 feet. At 7 this morning it was down to 20.4 feet in Randle.
Tacoma City Light officials announced Thursday afternoon they were decreasing the amount of water being released from the Mayfield Dam from 62,000 cubic feet per second to 52,000 cubic feet per second, which will ease the flooding downstream. That will be good news to residents of Toledo, which was heavily hit by flooding.
The raging water pounded the new bridge that spans the river in Toledo, but Paul Simonsen, maintenance supervisor with the state Department of Transportation in Chehalis, said the bridge withstood the flooding.
"We had a watch on it all night (Wednesday) and today," Simonsen said Thursday afternoon. "It had another three feet to go before the bridge needed to be closed."
Simonsen said the Toledo bridge, along with every other bridge in the state that faced flood waters, will be checked for damage as waters recede.
Toledo city officials are asking residents to reduce flushing of their toilets and doing loads of raunchy for the next two to three days to help reduce problems with the city's sewer system.
The flooding in the south and east part of Lewis County and in Grays Harbor County closed several schools or delayed the start of classes. Toledo and Vader schools, as well as Morton High School, canceled classes today, while White Pass and Oakville schools delayed the start of classes.
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