Rural Update – Report on Flooding in Eagle
17 05 2009As many of you know, Mudflatter yukonbushgrma has an unfortunate ringside seat to this year’s unprecedented flooding of the Yukon, which devastated the community of Eagle. Here is her report from the scene and some unbelievable photos of how everything looks today. Fortunately all the people managed to get out of their homes and there was no loss of life, but there is a huge cleanup and rebuilding effort that lies ahead. For those who have asked “What can I do to help?” there is information after the report.
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From yukonbushgrma
This week we will be moving for the third time in two weeks. We have had exceptionally lovely temporary accommodations, but we didn’t feel comfortable there with the dogs (the places were way too nice!). The dogs are our family — I’m sure all you critter lovers can appreciate that. So now we’ve found a small cabin – no amenities yet, but power and phone are coming this week. It’s a summer cabin, but sturdy and very livable — and with a million-dollar view of the Yukon! Oh, and the best part: it has a sauna! (outhouse too!) The plan is to purchase logs and build a cabin on our existing property (yes, right down there on the Yukon, also, too, again!), but up as high as possible. We will be working hard this summer to get it done by winter, but we’ll do it – hubby is pretty amazing. Our well is intact, and will just need cleansing and testing.
We don’t feel we can wait to see if there will be any assistance from state or federal governments. There isn’t enough time before winter. We have to start immediately. Not sure yet how it will be financed, but we’re gonna go for it. There’s got to be way.
It’s been two weeks since the devastation hit Eagle. The ice has started to melt somewhat, but the temps have been cool and it’s going down very slowly. Locals are joking that it will still be here in July, and that may very well be true. (If so, the tourists, if any, will certainly have something to write home about.)
This ice is not like normal breakup ice. (Well, duh, I guess you can probably see that!) Most years, by the time the river breaks it has rotted or candled, so it doesn’t take that long to melt. This stuff is like huge chunks of H2O steel, just as solid as the ice you get from your freezer trays. If one had an ice house, insulated with sawdust like they did in the old days, this is the ice you’d want, because it would last all summer. The reason it’s so solid is that we had a freaky week of 70-degree weather preceding breakup. Then the extremely high snow load started to melt, running down the feeder streams. It all went at once, massive ice chunks and all that water rushing with a vengeance.
This is our house tonight. Hubby (or at least half of him) is over at the left, to give you some perspective on the size of the ice – two weeks after the flood.
See that one lone spruce tree standing? I can’t for the life of me figure out how it survived – maybe it’s just propped up with ice. It was one of the smaller ones. We had probably 200-year-old spruces out there near the river, and they were landmark trees that surveyors had used. All gone.
Hubby realized tonight that after the ice took the house off the foundation, the house FLOATED UP at least two feet! He knew that, because our well (which had been under the house) remains intact and now it sits outside the house. If the house hadn’t floated at least two feet, the well would have been damaged.
Heavy equipment operators have been working to move ice and get roads open. If you look closely, up next to the river, slightly left of center, there’s a wee chunk of ‘road’ showing.
Hubby went out tonight to cut the downed power lines, in hopes equipment operators might be able to clear a rough trail to our house so we can haul out big things. We hope we can salvage some furniture from the second floor, and maybe the washing machine (well, maybe it will dry out OK).
That chunk of red metal rubble used to be my dear 6×12 covered trailer that hauled in all of our winter supplies from Fairbanks. We had even customized it with a fold-down bed and a screened window so we could camp in it.
The little ant-sized person under the yellow line is hubby. He’s 6 feet tall.
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For anyone wanting to help with needed items for residents who have lost so much in this flood, here are some items you can send, plus contact information. Thanks to the many people who have asked what they can do.
The following gently used and clean clothing items may be donated:
Bush appropriate clothing ~
jeans, work shirts, t- shirts, underwear, socks
hiking boots/work boots, rubber boots especially mens sizes 9-12
tennis shoes
work gloves
heavy duty rubber gloves (for clean – up) – those used during fishing season are great!
rain gear
We need tools!
Pry bars
hammers
axes
saws
chainsaws & accessories
tape measures
squares
levels
screw guns
hack saws
sawzalls
We also cannot keep enough of the following on hand:
Paper towels
bleach (not the scented kind – can’t cleanse a well with that)
hand sanitizer
toilet paper
In addition these items will be needed LATER in the season:
gift cards to Cabela’s & Big Rays (we are currently working on getting donations and discounts from these companies)
long johns
heavy winter socks
arctic gear
furniture & household goods
For those of you who would like to mail items…please send to:
Cindy Gowins c/o Eagle Distribution Center, Eagle Alaska, 99738
You can also call the Distribution Center (Eagle School, 907.547.2210) and ask for Cassy or Cindy if you have any questions.
UPDATE:
Here is a link to a thread on the Mudflats forum where you can discuss relief efforts, ask questions, and participate in further discussion. http://www.themudflats.net/forum/index.php/topic,7285.new.html#new
May 17th, 2009 at 10:05 PM
Hope, I’ll try to send you a PM – then, if you have it set up to do it, you should receive a regular email telling you you’ve received a message. After that, we can talk via email. And I can also give you my phone number.
Be patient – I don’t do it much myself!
ybg
May 17th, 2009 at 10:26 PM
@ Hope & yukonbushgrma
I emailed AKM and Jane at anonymousbloggers.wordpress.com/ with your questions so maybe they can help set something up so that you can coordinate. Hope – I sure wish I were up there and I’d go with you! What an amazing offer!
May 17th, 2009 at 10:33 PM
Hope – I just started a new thread on the Forum and asked you to reply to it. This was the only way I could figure out to do this. Go here, log in, and then reply to the post — after that, we should be able to connect:
http://www.themudflats.net/forum/index.php/topic,7284.0.html
ybg
May 17th, 2009 at 10:37 PM
OK, I think this might work if Hope can reply to the forum post.
BUT NOW — all of you, please address her question … is there enough call for her to drive all the way to Fairbanks to bring big things to Eagle? If you do have something she can pick up, we’ll have to figure it out pretty soon!
ybg
May 17th, 2009 at 10:56 PM
!!!!!
HOPE! — There’s any easier way, if you don’t want to go to the Forum.
Just phone the Distribution Center here in Eagle and talk with Cindy – phone 907.547.2210 (or if no answer, try 547.2310). Give her your phone number and ask her to get it to me. I’ll call you back! (Tell her it’s super-important.)
Sometimes it’s better to go low-tech!
ybg
May 17th, 2009 at 11:22 PM
@ #49 Say NO to Palin in Politics Says:
“yukonbushgrma, we feel pain for all of you and will do what we can to help.
“We’ve seen the press releases from the Gov saying help is in place and pledged.
“Please share what is being said to you about specifics of help coming via the Gov.
“Surely questions have been asked. What is being told to you?”
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Gov. Palin was here on the ground, and she did go out to see some of the devastation. I commend her for that.
So far, the state has been working primarily on infrastructure – which truly is needed. The road to Eagle Native Village has been cut off since May 3. In the next few days they hope to open a trail (not really a road per se), a way to get from Eagle City to Eagle Village so that essential supplies can get through.
They’ve also been working on our water supply, and just today there is a source of clean water. So hopefully it will no longer have to be trucked in.
The environmental and hazmat folks are here, and they’ve taken care of dumped-out fuel tanks and propane tanks.
Ice is getting moved, and they’re slowly finding the roads again.
It is my sense that the state will not have much money left to address the question of people without homes. They’ve already spent so much money, probably needed, on getting the relief center up and running and doing everything mentioned above.
The governor said when she was here that she would do everything she could to promote the “Rebuild Eagle” fund. I have not read anything that tells me she has done that. Perhaps I haven’t been reading the right sources.
We also wonder why no one, other than Sen. Begich, has been asking for a national declaration of disaster.
Many of us feel that we have moved beyond the “relief” phase of the emergency, and now in a few short months we must move through recovery and restoration. People need warm homes before winter.
Hope this answers your questions. They were good ones.
May 17th, 2009 at 11:49 PM
@ Hope:
Check your email – I think I got a message through!
ybg
May 17th, 2009 at 11:54 PM
So sorry for all you are going through yukonbushgrma! I’ve been going thru nightmare of mold abatement, contractors just finished repairs last Dec. Yep, insurance doesn’t pay a cent for any fine print they can find. If you can imagine, I have a mountain of stuff in my basement garage, EVERYTHING from the downstairs. Was hoping this week to get carpets shampooed downstairs and start dismantling the mountain. Given YOUR short drying period, you want to be VERY cautious about mold potential regarding the wood reuse!
After reading your post, I went on one CRAZY scavenger hunt, trying to reach what I could find (the size of the flat rate boxes is also constraining!). Surprised that I was able to find many items on your ‘Tools’ list. Hehe! Even found my ex-husband’s jig saw with several blades, so long dude! Also tucked nails/screws my contractors didn’t use up in the work boots I found.
Will have 2 maybe 3 large flat rate boxes mailed tomorrow. Will you pls ask Cindy to be careful opening boxes? I will post a note on them. Packed with socks, gloves, etc for packing, there’s a little rust on tools, but they’re plenty functional.
May 18th, 2009 at 12:02 AM
BTW, the work boots were only worn once when I fell tripping on the shoe strings and never wore again. Keeping stuff clean and gentle, even tho a little rust on the tools.
May 18th, 2009 at 12:03 AM
@ Kath the Scrappy:
heh heh, when I first read your post, I thought, “she’s sending her husband’s tools without asking him?” — and then went back and noticed it said EX-husband’s! Hahahahaha! Bet it felt great. I can really relate.
Bless you, Kath. I will just tell Cindy to be careful when she opens any flat rate boxes. But the note on them was a very good idea.
I hope your mold fiasco comes to an end soon – I know that can be a total nightmare, and you really have to make sure you’ve killed it. Fortunately here the climate is quite dry, at least normally. So things will dry out, especially if we do something to help that along. The wood we’re thinking about using is the stuff from the top story, so it wasn’t under water all that long.
big thanks,
ybg
May 18th, 2009 at 12:05 AM
http://www.themudflats.net/forum/index.php/topic,7285.new.html#new
Here is a link to a thread I just started in the Mudflats forum. You can use this to ask and answer questions, and discuss the relief efforts and what you can do to help. If you have not used the forums before, it’s quite easy to leave a comment. Just type in the box and click “Post” just like you do on the blog. You’ll see how to navigate through the thread, which breaks up comments into pages, also like the blog. I hope you find it helpful.
May 18th, 2009 at 12:16 AM
@ #61 AKM:
THANKS THANKS THANKS !!!
I will make a special note to keep an eye on it, and will post all new info as soon as I get it.
Was promised that tomorrow someone will give me some definitive info on the donation funds available, and how someone can donate. If there isn’t a way to donate through paypal for someone outside the US, I think I will try to set something up.
bless you again -
ybg
May 18th, 2009 at 12:22 AM
Thanks AKM, but I’m not seeing any “Just type in the box below and click POST when you’re done. ” or spot to click post.
Tired tonight, that was one whapper of a scavenger hunt (not exagerating, almost missed my Survivor finale even). Maybe I can figure out that forum better tomorrow.
@ yukonbushgrma, yep it felt GOOD to ship off my ex’s tools to a better place where they are much needed. My mold abatement mess is done, took almost 2 yrs, but I now have my kitchen back and downstairs bedrm (spent 10 mos washing dishes in the bathtub, so you can appreciate how paranoid I am about mold issues. Now I’m starting to tackle & disassemble the mountain.
May 18th, 2009 at 1:09 AM
MUDPUPS ON THE HIGHWAY:
Please see Hope’s post at #45. She is being such a sweetheart to offer to drive donations to Fairbanks or Eagle.
I’m re-posting this on AKM’s new Forum thread, and any of you who have items Hope can pick up on her way up from the Kenai Peninsula should chime in on the Forum. The best items for pickup would be those that are large or heavy and expensive to mail.
So please join us over at the Forum topic -
http://www.themudflats.net/forum/index.php/topic,7285.new.html#new
ybg
May 18th, 2009 at 4:01 AM
58 Kath the Scrappy from Seattle Says:
May 17th, 2009 at 11:54 PM
Hehe! Even found my ex-husband’s jig saw with several blades, so long dude!
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Now that’s funny !!
May 18th, 2009 at 4:11 AM
yukonbushgrnma – I’m gonna research the power sprayer today. Lowes is walking distance from me. The amount of work that can be done is amazing. And as I said before , the ones with the little tank where you can add bleach { or pine-o-pine } are the ticket.
May 18th, 2009 at 5:02 AM
I’m so sorry for what you are going through. I’ve only been “in” one flood and all I lost was my garden. I can’t imagine how you feel. I’m sorry I can’t help with anything right now except sympathy.
May 18th, 2009 at 5:58 AM
Did you know that Lowe’s and Home Depot allow items to be purchased at any of their stores in the country (ie, your local store) and picked up from any of their other stores in the country. The same is true if you go to their online sites.
Are there any Lowe’s or Home Depots near the flood area where someone from the relief effort could pickup the items marked for delivery in Alaska?
May 18th, 2009 at 6:25 AM
I think it was mentioned above that Fairbanks has both a Lowes and a Home Depot.
May 18th, 2009 at 6:41 AM
yukonbushgrnma – Sympathies to you and your family. I have experienced a flood, but at least the house stayed in the same place and it wasn’t filled with room-sized chunks of ice!!!!!!!!!!!!!! at the end of it. How incredibly terrifying it must have been for you and all of the people in your region.
The photographs were absolutely extraordinary – like everyone else, they took my breath away.
You and your husband must be very strong both physically and mentally. I think if I were you, I would be in a heap right now. I admire your spirit and determination.
May 18th, 2009 at 7:44 AM
68 sauerkraut Says:
May 18th, 2009 at 5:58 AM
Did you know that Lowe’s and Home Depot allow items to be purchased at any of their stores in the country (ie, your local store) and picked up from any of their other stores in the country. The same is true if you go to their online sites.
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Great idea !! That way YBG and hubby can get exactly what they need and want. If at all possible , Lowes. Home Depot supports Rush. just sayin’……..Headed to Lowes to do recon.
May 18th, 2009 at 9:47 AM
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JUST A REMINDER -
We are continuing this discussion over at the Forum. We’re in the “Alaskan Lodge,” and the forum topic is “Flood Disaster Relief for Eagle.”
The link below should take you right there –
http://www.themudflats.net/forum/index.php/topic,7285.0.html
It’s easy to comment there – you just click on the pink “reply” button.
Hope is trying to round up those of you who might have things to be picked up on her way up from Kenai Peninsula. She has only a few days to get it together, though, so if you’re interested, please reply at the forum link above. MANY THANKS!
ybg
May 18th, 2009 at 2:28 PM
@ #67 womanwithsardinecan:
Oh my, I can’t believe you even posted here, when you are going through such grief. I cannot tell you how sad I am that you have lost your dear son. I cried when I read all the endearing words written about him. By comparison, it makes our little troubles here look miniscule. Perspective is a good thing.
Biggest hugs to you, MarthaUYS and AlaskaPi …
ybg
May 19th, 2009 at 2:30 PM
Regarding Cabela’s gift certificates —
Many supermarkets have the big green Coinstar coin counting machines near their checkouts. They normally charge a fee for counting your coins. But if you take an online gift certificate instead, they will count your coins for free. They offer Cabela’s gift certificates, among others. You need to check their online directory to find out which gift certificates your local Coinstar machine supports, as they all offer a different range.
As I recall, one of those plastic shoebox-sized 6 qt containers filled half full of coins brought me about $90. You pour the coins into their machine, it counts them, and prints a slip with a code you enter online to get your gift certificate set up. It’s a fairly painless way of raising money, as normally we don’t tend to factor in those jars of spare change scattered around the house or under the sofa cushions.
http://www.coinstar.com/us/html/a-home