Tornadoes in Vancouver! [Archive]

Chief

01-10-2008, 01:19 PM

I just got back online after losing my ISP for over an hour. Sounds like I was lucky, as there are reports from all over of actual touchdowns from Fruit Valley Road, Hazel Dell, St. John's Road & Padden parkway, and over into Orchards.

We had a very violent line of storms come through following a cold front. It was 52 degrees here an hour ago, and right now the temperature is 48 and dropping. Four degrees drop in an hour is a big difference, and that's what set up the cyclones...

Developing...

Chief

01-10-2008, 01:21 PM

Here is the link to the columbian's coverage.

http://columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/01/01102008_Tornado-causes-damage-to-homes-and-businesses-in-Hazel-Dell.cfm

Thursday, January 10, 2008
By TOM VOGT Columbian Staff Writer The National Weather Service in Portland said a tornado caused damge in Clark County this afternoon.
A resident of Hazel Dell reported roofs off of homes near 72nd Street and Sluman Road.
Clark Public Utilities said winds knocked out power to more than 1,200 homes and businesses.

The 12:15 p.m. power outage affected 1,251 customers, said Mick Shutt, Clark Public Utilities spokesman.

**SCHNIPP**

Sounds like the power outage is what zapped my ISP, since their offices are in Hazel Dell, and I believe they are running off of the Electric Lightwave Server.

We dodged a bullet on this one, boys and girls. I hope noone was hurt.

Waterbuffalo

01-10-2008, 01:38 PM

See my comments here:

http://www.clarkblog.org/vBulletin/showthread.php?t=1223

I beat you by 1/2 hour..

tefen

01-10-2008, 01:41 PM

Probably not fair, WB. He was offline, 'cause his ISP was affected!

Waterbuffalo

01-10-2008, 01:44 PM

Yeah, True.. Problem is that his ISP is NW of me and my ISP is SW of me. Lucky Comcast was still up.

Curious to know who that ISP was down without a UPS backup? (Uninterruptible Power source..)

karma

01-10-2008, 01:51 PM

Well it was a fun ride out our way, I had to call Chief!! 2" of hail in Felida and it was pitch black like the tornados that I grew up with in Nebraska. This isn't over just yet and I was supposed to be in Fred Myers this afternoon, but glad I drug my feet as I watched the clouds roll in. No place to put photos so I'll go back to my crawl space.

tefen

01-10-2008, 01:53 PM

Karma,
Click "Manage Attachments". Looks like you can upload your pictures there.

Waterbuffalo

01-10-2008, 01:58 PM

He can now post her avatar thing. It looks like Chief made it bigger.

Wonder if it can fit the "ego size?"

Sorry but I had lights and computer during that time. Sucks to have that all go down.

Do remember that Cascade Park has had those problems in the past...

karma

01-10-2008, 01:58 PM

Thanks Tefen!!

Buff, your ego size?

Waterbuffalo

01-10-2008, 02:02 PM

Well since it does fit three of the profiles here. Mine, yours and Chiefs, I'd say an ego boost in the picture department might be needed. :-)

karma

01-10-2008, 02:03 PM

Here it is from my front door! Love the white look.

Chief

01-10-2008, 02:15 PM

I'll try to merge the two topics WB, since you did beat me online. I think the delay I experienced was the time it took to reboot the servers. I won't be too hard on them since they did just go through a tornado...

From the sound of things, there were at least 4 small funnel clouds, and at least one that touched down and skipped along from place to place. I am hearing now on NBC 8 that troutdale has spotted funnel clouds as well, although nothing has touched down yet.

It appears that the storm is heading up the gorge, and Hood river County is now under a tornado warning...

Developing...

Waterbuffalo

01-10-2008, 02:15 PM

VIDEO ON KGW.com!!!!!!! Right next to Karma!

http://www.kgw.com/

Waterbuffalo

01-10-2008, 02:31 PM

VIDEO ON KGW.com!!!!!!! Right next to Karma!

http://www.kgw.com/

On KGW, some one just called and said it started at 78th and St. Johns at Carols' Cup near 78th street and 78th Avenue (basically Saint Johns Road) in the area.

Shows why in Hazel Dell, why his ISP was down.

Highway 26 on the coast there is a huge amount of TREES are down.. That highway is parallel to Clark County.. if you look East and West..

Waterbuffalo

01-10-2008, 02:35 PM

There is another one in Troutdale..

Waterbuffalo

01-10-2008, 02:39 PM

Channel 2 news damage in Clark County..

http://www.katu.com/news/13683197.html

Waterbuffalo

01-10-2008, 02:54 PM

KGW is fun! crash, crash cram..

Tornado!

/me thinks of lots of damage.

Chief

01-10-2008, 03:16 PM

The storm must have come awfully close to you karma, if you got that much hail. It's hard to tell from the pic, but what size were the hailstones??

I'm seeing video of a building somewhere over near St. Johns that the storm sucked the bricks right off of one end!

Pretty intense stuff!

Waterbuffalo

01-10-2008, 03:30 PM

On Kgw.com, there is whole houses near felida that were taken down to their foundations near Vancouver Lake.

Waterbuffalo

01-10-2008, 03:38 PM

says on katu and kgw that there was a 4 mile trail along 78 street from Vancouver Lake to Andresen Road, maybe a little more East....

There is a lot of down power lines and trees. Its asked that NO ONE go in that area unless you have to in the HD area..

Waterbuffalo

01-10-2008, 03:57 PM

Took Out Vancouver Lake Boat Launch and Crew Club Boat House is gone.... The Whole Place is destroyed. 1/4 Million dollars of Boats gone.

Waterbuffalo

01-10-2008, 04:31 PM

I think there is going to be a K-9 Charity will probably going to be doing a fund raiser to help the kids creating a new Boathouse or some thing else like it.

Chief

01-10-2008, 04:34 PM

Good Lord! I'm looking at the video from Sky8 right now, and it's just incredible damage. Both of the buildings are splintered, and there are some very expensive rowing skulls scattered all over the place.

www.vancouverlakecrew.com is thier website address.

Waterbuffalo

01-10-2008, 04:37 PM

Here is the Vancouver Lake Crew.. I have known the area because I used to work and have had friends and family that lived in Lake Shore estates area but I never knew of this place.

There was another boat club and sailing club in this area though. Might be the same people.

http://vancouverlakecrew.com/

Waterbuffalo

01-10-2008, 04:38 PM

More pictures from the tornado...

http://www.katu.com/news/13683197.html

Chief

01-10-2008, 04:43 PM

Here is a link I found via the columbian, that shows the touchdown points as known...

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&om=1&msa=0&msid=102494403845525642374.00044364bbc4d7c304301&ll=45.678226,-122.661817&spn=0.022428,0.030084&source=embed

Waterbuffalo

01-10-2008, 05:08 PM

there has been some reports on the television stations in case the Columbian or the other news stations might be reading this there has been that there might be some damage around Hockinson area around 78th street EAST...

karma

01-10-2008, 05:21 PM

Are you saying I have an ego??

Back to what happened today, I was always told that tornados never go into or start in a valley area. Matter of fact they hate the valley areas. A new name for NW 78th Street is 'tornado alley!' Just look at the path it took?? It is just amazing that it would jump over I-5 as it did? Does this give some of the folks in Hazel Dell a hint?

Waterbuffalo

01-10-2008, 05:43 PM

<to the ego comment> I wonder at times.. <smirk.>

Tornado Alley might be a good thing to call it. Though how was the 1972 tornado not formed by coming up the Willamette River valley?

Also we should note that there was hail that was first reported by our fellow member and personal reporter of Newsy sense, Karma! She's our personal reporter and representative here at Clarkblog of things that happen in NW Clark County...

Chief

01-10-2008, 05:50 PM

What a crying damned shame about the rowing club. I hope that they set up a relief account as soon as possible, and I will do everything I can here to promote it. I see no reason why they should lose too much rowing time if the Community comes together to help these folks out.

Any word on insurance WB??

Waterbuffalo

01-10-2008, 06:15 PM

From what I have heard this might be a no-insurance type of situation. They used two portables store boats, office space and other things.

They were able to save a few small shells and exercise equipment. But every thing else is a total loss at the Vancouver Lake Crew place.

From what was said on several stations, I think this was self-funded 5013c group who was trying to do some good things in the community.

There is another thing right next door was a Vancouver Sailing club and wouldn't be surprised if they lost a huge amount of stuff too. They are a sailing club that does a similar situation that the crew club does but they are sea scouts and other boating enthusiasts. You can find them here: http://www.vlsc.org/

Honestly I think both of these places are right NEXT to each other near Lake Shore Estates. Lake shore lost a bunch of things in the 1996 Columbia River flood.

Karma might know of this area I am speaking. Its SW of her and used to be a frequent problem with bums and other transients.

Chief

01-11-2008, 05:25 AM

My wife was telling me about the interview she heard with Hizzonor the Mayor on the Mark and Dave Show yesterday on 1190 AM. I guess the tornado alley came very close to the Mayor's house, and he was out surveying the damage with his neighbors in the afternoon.

Mayor Pollard also got a call from Mayor Potter in Portland shortly after the storm hit, offering Vancouver any assistance they might need. Thankfully nobody was even injured, and we didn't need help this time, but it's nice to know that both Mayors and the Cities were right on top of things from the start.

My feeling is that we dodged a big bullet on this one folks. It's a terrible shame about the rowing club's equipment, but all of that can be replaced, and Thank God none of those kids were in the boathouse when the storm hit.

I have several feelers out about relief efforts for the rowing club, and I will share anything I hear about that here.

Waterbuffalo

01-11-2008, 06:25 AM

Nice to hear your wife was listening to the radio while I was online watching kgw.com and other news sources. Plumb forgot the radio side.

Agree with you whole heartedly on this subject. Thank you GOD no one was hurt and things can BE replaced. Including all the sports equipment and boats from the Vancouver Lake Crew Club.

The mayors or Tefen's place isn't far from the the Vancouver Lake Crew Club.

Wonder if tefen had any damage of trees in his Lincoln neighborhood? Both of their places are less than a mile from ground zero of where the whole thing started.

Also wondering if the Vancouver Lake Sailing club had any serious damage to their lowland sail boats that are stored and stowed right next to this same place.

Chief

01-11-2008, 06:31 AM

Also wondering if the Vancouver Lake Sailing club had any serious damage to their lowland sail boats that are stored and stowed right next to this same place.

I have not heard about any damage there, and I think that demonstrates the capricious nature of tornados. You would think that being in such close proximity , both would be destroyed, but that's not the case.

karma

01-11-2008, 02:21 PM

Chief, acts of nature are not covered by insurance policies?!? Read your insurance policies if you don't believe me.

So now I have an ego?? I thought it was tucked away in my back pocket?

Waterbuffalo

01-11-2008, 03:58 PM

Karma, Is there a "Act of God" insurance plan? <grin, joke> No your ego is in check right now along with my stubbornness and anger with a certain politician. (no, not the mayor..)

To every one else, I am just glad no one else got hurt and the damage wasn't totally a heck of a lot worse than it was. Though I agree with Karma, any insurance policy worth its salt in a form of any kinds is going to have some form of award or policy amendment that speaks to "acts of terrorism or god" to explain away freak happenings and disasters. Helps them get off the hook for a lot of things that should be covered.

Chief

01-11-2008, 04:08 PM

Chief, acts of nature are not covered by insurance policies?!? Read your insurance policies if you don't believe me.

So now I have an ego?? I thought it was tucked away in my back pocket?

It depends upon the riders of course. For example, we are covered for wind damage, and earthquake damage as well, since our policy has specific riders for both. It's possible to be insured for that kind of loss karma, but you have to have the policy properly written beforehand.

Waterbuffalo

01-11-2008, 04:16 PM

Or in other words, an AWESOME Insurance agent who will get you the best coverage for your present and possible future needs.

Is it called riders Chief? Thought there was another term for it?

Waterbuffalo

01-11-2008, 07:23 PM

According to KGW television, there have been seven boats and ten thousand dollars donated to the Vancouver lake Crew club. its was nice to see our citizens on this side of the river again to come out and help one of our own clubs.

Like to thank those who helped each other out in the effected areas take care of problems and other things. To the Line workers, qwest and CPUD and all the rest, I want to thank you all!

Waterbuffalo

01-11-2008, 07:26 PM

Chief

01-12-2008, 05:42 AM

One of the things that irritated me today is a couple of the television stations went to the Mayor of America's for comment on the story. Sorry guys but he's not the official representative of the area that been affected.

Almost a huge portion of that whole area isn't City of Vancouver land, its Clark County who they should have gone to for public comment. That area hasn't been officially annexed just yet..

Though the rest of the stuff what was reported was nice.

They quoted the Mayor in the stories I saw covered on TV, because he was the only guy out there actually checking out the damage among his neighbors. His home is quite close to the affected area, so I am not surprized to see him out and about checking the damage for himself. He needs to give meaningful input to the State disaster teams too, so it's good he's out getting a first hand view.