By Jim Feehan, The Chronicle 1/14/1998

CENTRALIA - Various federal, state and local officials are preparing for flooding in Lewis County after the year's first storm and rapid thaw.

Mark Clemens, spokesman for Washington State Emergency Management, a division of Washington state military department, said the agency is in contact with county officials and the National Weather Service.

"We're getting ready to be ready," Clemens said.

If the governor declares an emergency, Emergency Management provides sandbags and helps in evacuations along with the National Guard, Clemens said.

Connie Small, Lewis County Red Cross executive director, said the agency has an adequate supply of blankets and cots.

Shelters are ready should the need arise, she said. "I'm hoping for a slow melt."

Michaelle Fries, Lewis County Red Cross disaster coordinator, was notifying volunteers and taking an inventory of supplies at the Chehalis office Tuesday.

"It's a matter of setting up personnel," she said. "(It is hoped) it won't happen, but we'll be ready Thursday afternoon."

Calvin Johnson, chief of the Toledo Fire Department, said he's waiting and watching the Cowlitz River.

"We're ready with sandbags," Johnson said.

Gerry Arbios, spokeswoman with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office in Seattle, said the Corps helps out when the counties? resources run out.

"We provide technical assistance. Many of our flood engineers have 10-20 years experience," she said.

The Corps also helps with flood control by providing sandbags to local communities, Arbios said.

The winter storm also hampered blood donations. The Puget Sound Blood Center's mobile fleet was grounded Monday. The center had five blood drives throughout Western Washington canceled owing to the winter storm, said Keith Warnack, Puget Sound Blood Center spokesman.

Blood donations to the Puget Sound Blood Center usually drop off during the busy holidays. In the Northwest, officials also saw an unusually high number of liver transplants during the Christmas week, said Warnack.

"Each liver transplant requires 35 to 80 pints of blood," Warnack said.

The region is operating on a one-day supply of O-negative and O-positive blood, but it should have three to five days, Warnack said. That means blood supplies at some hospitals are dwindling.

On average, daily demand for blood and blood products in Western Washington is 900 pints, Warnack said.

"January is a time for a lot of elective surgeries, as people put them off until after the holidays," he said.