[Rhodes22-list] We’re Still Here!

[Mike Riter]

Roger, one of the things I admire most about sailors is their ability to
remain calm in adverse conditions. The way you've reported the dam failure
and flooding reflects that. Well done!

I hope all your things at the storage place have survived. Even with
insurance the amount of work to replace everything would be immense.

Best of luck to you!

Michael Riter
SV Emma B



On Thu, May 21, 2020 at 8:07 AM ROGER PIHLAJA <roger_pihlaja at msn.com> wrote:

>  Hi All,
>
> We’re still sheltering in place at our house.  We have no electricity,
> cable TV, landline telephone, or cable internet.  Fortunately, the cell
> phone still works!  Our standby generator has been running continuously
> since Tuesday evening.
>
> The water level in Sanford Lake has crested and is now falling slowly.
> The radio says Sanford dam was breached.  But, it must still be standing or
> the water level would be down dramatically.  I suspect they mean the dam
> was overtopped and water was flowing thru the emergency spillway. Sanford
> dam upgraded their emergency spillway in 2013 to be able to handle a 500
> year flood.  So far, the upgrade seems to be working.   Inadequate
> emergency spillway capacity was the primary  issue that caused FERC to
> cancel the Wixom dam’s operating permit in 2018.  Wixom dam has two
> concrete structures that house the flood gates and hydroelectric
> generators.  But, these concrete structures are linked by ~1/2 mile of
> earthen berm that was really the majority of the dam.  From the on-line
> pictures I’ve seen, it appears it was this earthen berm that failed.
>
> Deb and I drove around the area yesterday morning.  We verified our escape
> route.  We found there was a gas station and grocery store open in
> Beaverton.  So, we filled up the minivan and bought some groceries.
>
> The Curtis Road bridge at the north end of Sanford Lake has been
> destroyed!  Actually, the steel center span is still standing.  But, ~100
> yards of the western approach to the bridge has been washed away.  So, you
> can’t get anywhere near the center span.  Many houses in the area near the
> bridge are gone, nothing left but their foundations.  You can also see the
> severed water main, power cables, fiber optic cables for cable TV and
> internet hanging from the bridge structure.  I think it’s going to a long
> time before all the utilities are restored to the west side of the lake.
> Fortunately, we get our water from a well.  As long as our natural gas
> fired generator keeps running, we’re in good shape.  The natural gas
> pipeline doesn’t cross the Curtis Road bridge.  The pipeline runs up the
> west side of the lake from the south.  We are near the northern end of the
> pipeline.   ie, A little north of our house, you start seeing LP gas pigs
> in people’s yards.  During the flood, we saw many of these LP gas pigs
> floating down the lake!
>
> We tried several different routes to get to Johnson Mini Storage on M-30.
> But, we were stopped every time by flooded roads or closed bridges.  The
> storage facility is located very close to the Wixom dam and I’m worried the
> flood waters destroyed it.  We had a lot of stuff, including our RIB, the
> outboard, trailer, 3 kayaks, a canoe, all my dive gear, and a bunch of
> camping, kayaking, and boating gear stored there.  I studied the county map
> last night and I’m going to try another route today.  I’d like to know if
> the storage facility is damaged or is even there anymore before I contact
> my insurance agent.
>
> Otherwise, things is dull!
>
> Roger Pihlaja
>    S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
>
>
>
>