Lane County’s roads started to look like rivers and, in some places, lakes when last weekend’s rainfall triggered an evacuation notice for some residents.
According to the Oregon Department of Emergency Management, beginning on February 24, ongoing storms have caused significant flooding and landslides throughout Oregon, resulting in one fatality, critical transportation failures, and loss of power and communications capabilities.
On March 18, Governor Tina Kotek declared a state of emergency. Following ORS 401.165, the Governor determined a potential threat to life, safety, and property and significant damage to infrastructure exists due to flooding and landslides that have caused and continue to induce a state of emergency in Southern Oregon. Affected areas include Lane, Clackamas, Coos, Curry, Douglas, Harney, Jackson, Josephine, Multnomah, and Malheur counties. The Governor’s Office also closely monitors a potential flood in the Burns area of Harney County and preemptively added Harney County to this declaration. Making this kind of declaration opens up the state to federal funding for disaster relief.
Stormy weather blew 3-5 inches of rain into Lane County from Friday through Sunday. On March 16, the Lane County Sheriff’s Office issued Level 1 (Be Ready) Evacuation Notices for Cottage Grove and Marcola areas due to flooding. According to ODOT spokesperson Mindy McCartt, most of the flooding in Lane County was within city limits.
“I wouldn’t say it was mellow by any means,” McCartt said. “The rain might have slowed down today (Monday), but we’re going to see a lot of rain in the future, and then with the snow melting, we don’t know what that’s going to look like.”
Local KEZI meteorologist Holden LeCroy referred to the storm as the “Pacific Northwest Trifecta,” with rain, wind, and snow. He said 1-2 inches of rain were expected per day over the weekend and predicted Creswell would accumulate 4.93 inches total.
Southern Lane County might have taken the hardest hit from the rain. Cottage Grove slurped up as much of the four and a half inches of rain as possible and sloshed the rest to the side for later. Gauge catchers in three weather stations read that as much as 2.75 inches of rain had fallen by Sunday morning.
By 8 a.m. Sunday, Cottage Grove had confirmed flooding on E. Main Street near Walgreens and on W. Main Street at the Silk Creek Bridge and Cemetery Road. According to the City, caution signs were placed where water pooled to alert drivers of the conditions.
By 10:30 a.m., Cemetery Road was impassable, and several homes along the creek were flooding. The closure of Cemetery Bridge Road forced nearby residents to shelter in place. This included all areas north of Silk Creek Road accessed by Cemetery Bridge Road, including Buttercup Loop, Bluebird Street, Ash Avenue, and Pond Turtle Way. City Utility staff opened a secondary road connecting Cemetery Road with W. Main Street, allowing emergency vehicles and property owners to access their property, bypassing the flooded area of Cemetery Road.
According to LCSO, the following areas were under a Level 1 (Be Ready) evacuation notice due to flooding: Silk Creek to Bryant Avenue, between Gowdyville Road and S. River Road; and Riverstone RV Park at S. 6th Avenue and Latham Road, east of Cottage Grove.
“It sounds like the more significant impact was Cottage Grove,” said Tim Wallace, LCSO public information officer. “Especially given the RV park and then Bryant Avenue area, those are residential areas.”
Around 11:30 a.m., Chief Wooten with South Lane County Rural Fire opened an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at Station #1 on Harrison Avenue. Evacuation notices were sent to property owners via the emergency notification system. The City also sent text messages and posted on social media.
The City of Cottage Grove opened an emergency shelter for evacuees at the Community Center. Red Cross and local volunteers operated the shelter until midday Monday. According to the City, 13 people were served at the shelter, and 12 slept overnight.
According to Faye Stewart, Cottage Grove Public Works Director, due to the high water flows, the town experienced three known locations of sanitary sewer system overflows. The locations were at Fillmore and 4th Street intersection, N. River Road near Holly, and the Cottage Grove Water Reclamation Facility on Douglas Street. Staff estimated the spills at 4th Street and River Road to be approximately 2,400 gallons each, and the spill at the treatment plant was approximately 10,000 gallons. The sites were cleaned and disinfected per Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) requirements,s and a notification was sent to the DEQ and the City of Creswell.
On Monday, South Lane School District ran on a two-hour delay, and Bohemia Elementary closed due to a power outage. The Senior and Disability Services office also operated on a two-hour delay, and the Senior Meals site closed due to local flooding.
By midday Monday, most of the water had receded and returned to normal conditions.
Creswell School District remained on a regular schedule despite the closure of Hwy. 99 from Dale Kuni Road north to Dillard.
Bethany Scovil, communications and community engagement coordinator for Creswell School District, said flooding on Hwy. 99 temporarily affected one-morning bus route, which was promptly resolved by the afternoon run with all routes cleared. This update was relayed to the community to ensure awareness.
City of Springfield representatives stated that the town experienced localized flooding, which its Operations Division of the Development of Public Works Department has been addressing. Sunderman Road in Springfield closed near Marcola except for residents’ local access.
“Compared to previous flooding events, this was a minor event,” said Mike McGillivray, Springfield Communications Coordinator.
According to McGillivray, residential areas were affected by a large amount of rainfall. They had standing water in the street due to nearby drainage ditches running at capacity, preventing water from draining through the storm drains.
“We had two spots where we were called to respond for high water, one in the Thurston area on D Street between 69th and 70th, and the other at 49th Place and Elderberry,” said McGillivray. He said the water was gone by the following day once the rain slowed down.
With a 60-91% chance of rain forecast through the weekend, McCartt wants to remind people about the dangers of driving through water.
“We want everybody to be really prepared and do everything they can to not drive through standing water,” she said. “You never know what the current is beneath the surface, and it can cause vehicles to leave the roadway and then get stuck. So if you see high water, we’re asking people to turn around and find an alternate route.”
Lane County officials advise residents to keep track of local river conditions and prepare to seek higher ground in the event of more flooding. Make a plan for where you will go, how you will get there, and what you will take. The county is advising residents to monitor phones and local news for updates in case conditions get worse.
Visit water.noaa.gov and waterwatch.usgs.gov to keep an eye on riverwater levels and sign up for county emergency alerts at LaneAlerts.org.
