Freshwater

Wednesday's storm brought major flooding to Freshwater and Elk River on less than 2" of rainfall. In Freshwater, the flooding rose more than 15" above the 'benchmark' level set by the 1955 flood. This kind of flooding is now commonplace in these two watersheds, as sediment from upstream logging has filled in the stream channels by as much as 60%. With no where else to go, the water spreads across fields and roads, and into yards and houses.

Berta Road in Elk River

Berta Road

Berta Road in Elk River was covered by more than 2 feet of fast-moving water, making it impassable to all but the tallest of trucks. One of the attached pictures shows a jacked-up Toyota 4X4 pickup having to be rescued by an even taller pickup. The Toyota stalled-out in the high water, and was unable to start even after being pulled clear. Numerous residents were stranded, unable to get in or out of their homes.

Elk River

Elk River

Further out Elk River Road, numerous homes were either flooded or threatened by the water (see pictures). One house had about 5" of water inside, forcing the residents to raise all of their furniture and appliances onto tables, blocks, or countertops. North Fork Elk River was completely cutoff. The road became impassable well before 'Dead Woman's Corner,' so that I was unable to get out there to check on people.

Howard Heights

Howard Heights

Though this has been a wetter-than-normal year so far, this was not an unusual storm. The preceeding days had brought less than an inch of rain, so that the 3-day total was only about 2 1/2 inches. After 20 years of aggressive logging, the situation in these two watersheds is such that even a fairly routine storm now causes serious flooding. What used to be a 100-year flood event now happens multiple times each year. In fact, as can be seen in the picture of Howard Heights Bridge, it is exceeded by a significant amount.

Friday's storm is forecast to be much larger than the one that caused the flooding in these pictures, with as much 3 to 4 inches of rainfall between now and Friday evening. Coming on the heels of yesterday's storm, the flooding could be far more serious. Good luck to everybody out there!

Mark Lovelace
Humboldt Watershed Council