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South Sound
Wednesday, December 19, 2001
Rain turns reservation into island Chehalis, Black rivers close roads, strand 150 JOHN GRABER, THE OLYMPIAN
SOUTH SOUND -- About 150 people were stuck on the Chehalis Indian Reservation on Tuesday night as roads leading in and out were closed by flooding.
"If there was an emergency, they would have to be helicoptered out," said John Setterstrom, general manager of the Lucky Eagle Casino, which is on the reservation.
Flooding from the Chehalis and Black rivers routinely turns the reservation, which sits on a high prairie, into an island.
The waters can reach more than 4 feet deep and have been doing so "probably ever since we've been here," Chehalis Tribal Chairman David Youckton said.
In 1992, a woman in her 20s died when flooding cut the reservation off from medical help. Boats could not reach her, and a helicopter had to wait overnight before it could land. The woman died on the way to the hospital, Youckton said.
Youckton has been working with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Portland to secure money to raise Anderson Road to provide better access to the reservation, Youckton said. Although he has a verbal commitment that the project could be done in the summer, he said he remains pessimistic.
"Right now, I would classify that more as wishful thinking than reality," he said.
Lucky Eagle Casino closed about 1 p.m. Monday when water closed the roads leading to and from the facility, the general manager said.
Setterstrom is hoping the water will recede enough to reopen the casino today. It was the first time since 1998 that the casino was closed because of flooded roads.
"It doesn't look like a good year for us," he said.
Similarly, Tumwater Valley Golf Course and Valley Athletic Club closed because the Deschutes River flooded the road leading to them.
The health club reopened around 9 a.m. Tuesday instead of its regular time at 5:30 a.m., Manager Keith Beasinger said.
The golf course remained closed Tuesday, but Chuck Denney, Tumwater Parks and Recreation director, expected it to reopen by the end of the week. The course's pro shop remained open Tuesday for Christmas shopping.
The course is in the middle of a set of improvement projects totaling more than $1.5 million, which include updating the irrigation system and putting in new cart paths. No improvements were damaged because of the water, Denney said.
The Chehalis was the only river that remained on a flood warning alert Tuesday evening. The Deschutes, Skookumchuck and Skokomish rivers were taken off alert Tuesday, but there was enough flooding to cause 12 road closures in Thurston County on Tuesday afternoon.
Maggie Querciagrossa, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Seattle, said minor scattered showers should last through today.
"Nothing real heavy," she said. "The main front has moved through. Probably nothing more than a tenth or two-tenths of an inch."
The part of Deschutes Parkway that was closed Dec. 13 because of a mudslide brought on by rain will remain closed until Saturday. Officials from the state General Administration department had planned on reopening the road near where it passes under Interstate 5 by Thursday, but more time is need to stabilize the hill overlooking the street.
On the Web:
- Dept. of Transportation Real Time Road and Weather Traveler Information
The Olympian Copyright 2001 back to main South Sound index
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