NE Oregon flooding: 21 evacuated, woman missing
(Update: Saturday information)
PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) — Oregon National Guard troops aboard two helicopters airlifted 21 people to safety in flood-hit northeast Oregon on Saturday, and authorities reported a 62-year-old woman who lived in one of the areas hit by floods was missing.
National Guard troops, working with the Umatilla County Sheriff's Office, used two helicopters Saturday to evacuate 21 people who were stranded by the floods. The center says more evacuations are planned for Sunday.
The Umatilla County Sheriff's Office also says that it is searching for a woman who went missing near Bar M Ranch, which has had flooding in recent days. Janet Tobkin Conley, 62, was last seen about 7 p.m. Thursday in the Bar M Ranch area.
A Red Cross official said earlier Saturday that waters covering roads in flood-hit northeastern Oregon were starting to recede, allowing residents who spent the night in shelters or with friends to return and assess the damage.
Some residents in the foothills of the Blue Mountains in northeast Oregon had to be airlifted by from their flooded homes by helicopter as rain and melting snow caused rivers to crest their banks.
The rain had stopped by Saturday morning, but more was forecast before sunny weather comes on Sunday.
Many roads remain closed by landslides, flooding and fallen trees in parts of Washington.
Residents in northeastern Oregon were plucked from rapidly rising floodwaters by helicopter or rode to safety in the bucket of a front-end loader Friday as relentless rain and melting snow pushed multiple rivers high above flood stage, prompting a state of emergency declaration.
Severe flooding in communities in the western foothills of the towering Blue Mountains — near where Oregon, Idaho and Washington converge — closed a nine-mile section of Interstate 84, forced evacuations and stranded at least one family on their roof.
Images showed massive big rigs floundering in feet of water that had poured over Interstate 84, a major freeway linking Idaho and Oregon, as the Umatilla River overran its banks. (Get the latest travel updates at our ODOT TripCheck page.)
Gov. Kate Brown late Friday declared a state of emergency in Umatilla, union and Wallowa counties due to severe flooding, increased snowmelt, landslides, and erosion.
The declaration came at the request of local lawmakers and is based on the recommendations of the Oregon Office of Emergency Management.
"Fast-moving, severe floods have required the evacuation of residences and shut down critical roads in northeastern Oregon," Brown said. "I am grateful for all of our first responders for their efforts to keep our families safe since the waters began rising."
"This emergency declaration ensures state resources, emergency response personnel, and equipment can be activated to complement critical local resources as this situation progresses," she added.
Brown's declaration directs OEM to coordinate the deployment of the Oregon National Guard, Oregon Department of Transportation, Oregon State Police, Oregon Water Resources Department, Oregon Department of Human Services, and Oregon Health Authority to support local communities as needed.
OEM will facilitate the access and use of state resources, personnel, and equipment to protect communities, property, and the environment, and aid in the recovery from flooding. The state of emergency will remain in effect for 30 days.
The Office of Emergency Management will continue to provide regular updates, which will be made available here: https://twitter.com/oregonoem.
Smaller rivers and streams in the area roared with water from a rapid snowmelt, leaving at least one family stranded on their roof and authorities scrambling to rescue residents from a mobile home park.
“This area’s totally compromised,” Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts told the East Oregonian. “There will be property damage and vehicle losses.”
Tom Roberts, the Umatilla County emergency services manager, said the National Guard provided aerial aid late Thursday as roads near the Umatilla River filled with water.
Evacuation shelters were open in Pendleton and at a warming station on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation usually used for homeless people.
“We’re getting as many resources as we can. Please don’t put yourself in harm’s way, don’t cross moving water,” he said.
Elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest, officials braced for more flooding and landslides.
In western Washington, a tree fell on a car on State Route 18 west of Issaquah on Thursday night, blocking the highway for hours. No one was injured. People living in an apartment building in Issaquah were evacuated Thursday after Issaquah Creek breached its banks and began running under the building.
The King County Flood Warning Center issued a flood alert early Friday for the Snoqualmie River. They said numerous road closures were possible in Snoqualmie Valley.
Gov. Jay Inslee issued an emergency proclamation Wednesday for 19 Washington counties because of the storms. King County Executive Dow Constantine in Seattle signed an emergency declaration Thursday to speed up response to storm damage.
