Area trees succumb to high winds
Thousands reported without power
Heidi Wallenborn-Cramer
news director
Strong winds blew through southwest Washington Dec. 14, uprooting trees, cutting power, and causing other problems in the area.
Some people were without power until Sunday afternoon, when the last group of residents had their power restored.
National Weather Service officials said the windstorm was the most serious since 1995 when wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour were recorded and half of Clark County was left without power.
The wind started gaining speed at about 3:30 p.m. and tapered off by midnight, officials said, with the brunt of the storm hitting about 7:30-9 p.m.
Gusts up to 56 miles per hour were recorded in Hockinson, 63 miles per hour in Salmon Creek, 79 miles per hour at Vancouver Lake, 62 miles per hour in Battle Ground, 32 miles per hour in Woodland, and 58 miles per hour in Hazel Dell.
A National Weather Service employee reported a 10-inch diameter tree fell in the agency’s parking lot near the Portland Airport, and another employee reported that several trees and power lines were down in Yacolt with fallen trees on cars and houses.
Ron Myers, a weather-watcher in Venersborg, recorded a wind gust of 37 miles per hour at 8 p.m. He said the storm slowly built up all afternoon and dropped off later in the evening.
One Venersborg couple reported driving under a leaning tree on Risto Rd. that barely cleared the top of their truck.
Other area weather watchers recorded winds up to 48 miles per hour, peaking about 8 p.m. By that time, trees were down on SR-503 near Lewisville Park and across several other roads.
A cedar tree, estimated at 180 feet tall, fell on a one-story home owned by Gary Livingston at 14512 NE 249th St., Battle Ground, at about 7:45 p.m.
Livingston said his wife was in the shower and one of his children on a bed when the power went out. The family went to the other end of the house to light candles, and two minutes later the tree fell.
Had the power not gone out, Livingston’s wife and child could have been hurt, Livingston said, because the tree fell right where they had been.
“We got lucky,” he said.
The tree damaged three bedrooms and two bathrooms in the home.
Three tree experts inspected the cedar tree this past summer, Livingston said, and all three pronounced it to be healthy and worth keeping.
The tree stood about 6 feet from the front wall of the home, which was recently remodeled. The loss is insured.
By 9 a.m. on Dec. 15, contractor Jerry Miller and subcontractor Custom Craneworks were at work removing the tree. Livingston was unsure when the family would move back in.
In Brush Prairie, a Douglas fir tree fell on the home of Wayne and Kelly Truscinski, 15418 NE 181st St.
Kelly Truscinski said the tree fell about 9:30 p.m. The family also lost three trees in the backyard that broke a retaining wall but did not hit the house.
Truscinski said neighbors told her they could put their arms around trees that evening and feel the roots swaying.
Around the corner from the Truscinski home located in The Cedars housing development, a tree fell on the home of Ron and Julie Waldrop, 16018 NE 183rd St.
The trunk of the fir tree severed the house with the top end of the tree extending into the back yard. The tree also lifted up concrete in the driveway.
The home was recently re-roofed and repainted.
Gary Kester, a resident in the neighborhood, said half a dozen major trees fell in that area and damaged four homes and/or cars.
Also in Brush Prairie, Melinda Squires came home about midnight to find her portable carport and outside cage for birds that measures about 16-feet square had been transported by the wind.
Squires said the carport was weighted down with cinder blocks and when the wind moved it about 400 yards to a vacant lot near the Prairie Tavern on Caples Rd., it tossed one of the blocks through a wall in her house and littered the rest down the driveway.
The large cage, which holds several cockatiels, was pushed about 5 feet off it’s concrete block. The birds have since been moved to a barn on her property on NE 149th St.
In La Center, a large maple tree estimated at 3 feet in diameter at its base, “squashed” a detached garage at the home of Blayne Perleth, 510 W 2nd Ave.
Perleth and his wife had taken their cars into town earlier that evening, he said, otherwise the vehicles could have been smashed as well.
In Battle Ground, a cottonwood tree fell across the roof of a home owned by city council member Alex Reinhold, at 220 SW 19th Ave.
Reinhold said he and his family moved out of the home about one month ago. A neighbor heard the tree fall at about 8 p.m.
The tree damaged the roof, bathroom, kitchen and two bedrooms, Reinhold said. He saw photos of the tree growing at the site in 1973. The family lived in the home about 12 years.
35,000 without power in Clark County at peak
Clark Public Utilities spokesman Mick Shutt said about 35,000 Clark County residents were without power at the height of the storm.
He said three major loops serving Felida, Sarah, Ridgefield, Battle Ground, Pioneer, Union Ridge, Manor, and Barberton shut down within 15 minutes of each other beginning at 7:45 p.m.
“Cascade Park had about 14,000 out by itself,” Shutt said.
First reports started about 2:45 p.m. with 250 without power, he said. From 3-4 p.m., 6,000 were affected, with 12,000 having no service from 4-5 p.m. From 5-6 p.m., 3,200 were without power, then the big hit came at 7:45 p.m., he said.
The numbers can be deceiving, Shutt said, because some of those areas were back online fairly quickly, and those numbers are hard to keep track of.
By 10 p.m. 16,000 were without service, and at 11 p.m., the number dropped to 10,000 residents.
At 4 p.m. on Dec. 15, about 2,300 customers were still without power, Shutt said, but the remaining outages were “fairly small” across several parts of the county.
By Sun., Dec. 17, 25 people remained without power at 5 p.m., until it was restored later in the evening.
Some outages had not been previously reported, and others were unrelated to the storm, said Shutt.
The utility also received help from two utility crews of seven people from northern California and four from Eugene Water and Electric Board.
In Cowlitz County, Public Utility District employees began responding to 1,200 residents at 3:50 p.m. In all, 9,000 customers were without power during the course of the storm, with 400 still without power by 1 p.m. on Dec. 15. The high wind gust recorded at the District’s main office in Longview was nearly 53 miles per hour, officials said.
Wind, rain similar to 1995
Some area residents compared the windstorm to a similar one in 1995.
Deni Deseive, a weather watcher in La Center, said the big wind of 1995 blew on Dec. 12. The barometer fell to 28.8 on that occasion, she said. This year, the storm was on Dec. 14 and the barometer fell to 29.0.
Deseive, who keeps rainfall data, recorded .8 inches of rain on Dec. 13 in both years, and 1.4 inches of rain on Dec. 14 in both years. In addition, the days of the month are the same in both years.
“I looked at 1995,” said Deseive. “It’s so similar it’s spooky.”

Pool supporter requests more public hearings
A decision by the Woodland Planning Commission to remove any mention of a swimming pool in Horseshoe Lake Park from the city’s proposed park and recreation plan brought an objection from a member of the swimming pool committee.
Benno Dobbe, a supporter of building an indoor pool in the downtown park, told the city council Dec. 4 that the planning commission failed to have public hearings on the park and recreation plan. He asked the city council not to approve the plan without another hearing.
“We had no knowledge that the planning commission would decide (the plan),” Dobbe said. “It’s important to allow input from the citizens before a decision is made. The planning commission should allow any citizen who wishes to give input.”
The Woodland Park and Recreation Plan is one of six amendments proposed for the city’s comprehensive plan. The park plan was written last summer and presented to the planning commission for review. It calls for more open park lands and, in its original form, listed a swimming pool as a use for Horseshoe Lake Park.
During several open meetings, the city council received citizen comments supporting and opposing the proposal to build an indoor pool in the park, and the council held an open town meeting in the park at the site of the proposed pool earlier this year.
The city has an agreement with a park and recreation committee to donate property in the park for a swimming pool, but there has been discussion from council members about rescinding the agreement.
The council deferred any action on the comprehensive plan amendments until the meeting Mon., Dec. 18.

Cowlitz Commissioners announce vacancies
The Cowlitz County board of commissioners is seeking to fill vacancies in several boards, commissions and committees that assist in managing county government.
Information about the following vacancies is available by calling Vickie Musgrove, (360) 577-3020. Application deadline is Thurs., Dec. 21, 5 p.m., with interviews to be held later.
Planning Commission
Cowlitz County planning commission reviews land use applications for development in unincorporated areas of the county. Expiring terms are in commissioner district three of west Longview and Castle Rock area, and district two of Longview and Lexington. Term is for four years. Meets the third Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
Boundary Review Board
A four-year term is open on the Boundary Review Board which reviews boundary changes including annexations, water and sewer extensions, incorporations, mergers and consolidations of special purpose districts. Board meets the second Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
Noxious Weed Control Board
This board assists in educating the public about control of noxious weeds. Applicants must have some knowledge of noxious weeds and live in Weed Control Districts 1, 3 or 4. Four year term. Meets the third Thursday, 7 p.m.
Solid Waste Advisory Committee
Committee assists in development of solid waste handling programs and policies.
Mosquito Control Board
Board supervises the services and facilities to control mosquito populations. Applicants must live in commissioner district 3. Term is for two years.
Food Advisory Committee
Committee advises on food safety matters to protect health and safety of the public. Term is for three years.
Rural Partial County Library District
District has vacancy for west Longview, Lexington, Columbia Heights area to manage district finances, set budget, set tax levy. Term is for five years.
Regional Support Network Advisory Board
Board reviews and makes recommendations on mental health plans, policies, programs. Term is for three years.
Woodland seeks wastewater advisors
Volunteers are being sought to serve on a wastewater advisory committee which is now being formed in Woodland.
The volunteer positions are for terms ending in December 2008.
The committee will be made up of three citizens, three business owners, two council members and the city’s Public Works director.
The committee will consider high-occupancy business rate structure, and make recommendations to the city council.
Interested persons may obtain an application packet at City Hall Annex, 2230 Davidson Ave., Woodland, or by calling 225-8281. Applications are due by Mon., Jan. 8, or until the positions are filled.

Council debates hiring short-term administrator
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
Woodland City Council members on Dec. 4 debated the pros and cons of hiring a short-term city administrator, but by the end of the evening the council had made no decision.
The debate came during a workshop discussion of the city’s 2007 budget. Council member John J. Burke questioned a budget item that pays a city administrator salary for six months, and said he opposes adding the short-term position.
“I don’t think the city administrator is a position we want to go forth with,” Burke said. “We need more police and fire (employees). I’m not ready for this change.”
In presenting the idea for a six-month administrator’s salary of $60,000, Mayor Doug Monge said that as the city grows, issues become more complex and more difficult for a part-time mayor to handle.
“With growth the way it is, having a professional on board helps solve the problems that happen,” he said.
Monge said that Jim Hough, interim public works director, has agreed to serve as interim city administrator for six months, which would help the city decide whether to continue with an administrator, return to the mayor form of government or examine the possibilities of hiring a city manager.
Under Woodland’s mayor-council form of government, the city administrator would work for the mayor and the council would retain its authority to perform certain administrative tasks, such as hiring and firing. Under the council-manager form of government, the city council hires the manager, who has all administrative authority including hiring and firing. The council may not interfere with the manager’s duties but hires or fires the manager.
The Woodland council invited specialists to discuss the different forms of government in 2005 but has taken no action on making any changes.
During the Dec. 4 discussion, council member Jim Tone said that a city administrator could relieve existing staff of some responsibilities.
“Staff puts in long hours, beyond the normal required for business,” Tone said. “The interim idea for six months would let us see if this is a step in the right direction.”
Council member Erica Rainford said the council should wait to consider hiring an administrator.
“I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves financially,” she said. “We should get the new employees on board and up to speed first.”
The 2007 budget proposed adding a training officer to the city’s fire department, a sergeant to the police department, a city planner and clerical staff.
“If we hire a city administrator, I’d say we should not hire any other bodies,” Burke said.
Monge said that an administrator would have the responsibility of searching for grants to increase city coffers.
“Woodland is ready for an administrator,” Monge said. “Woodland needs it. We’re financially in good circumstances.”
In another budget matter, Tone said the human resources committee will recommend a 4 percent across-the-board increase in staff salaries and the elimination of the step plan.
The budget will be discussed and adopted at the Dec. 18 meeting.