Kirkland, like most of the Puget Sound region, was hard hit by the monsoon-strength rainstorm and gale-force winds in December.
But now that power has been restored and most of the mess has been cleaned up, Kirkland is about to embark on a bit of soul-searching about the way the emergency was handled, according to City Manager David Ramsay. "We, in many ways, regard this as a wake-up call," he said.
Of course, some of the effects of what is described as a 100-year storm couldn't be avoided as rain lashed the city, according to Public Works Director Daryl Grigsby. The 6-foot-wide storm-water main downtown is adequate for normal storms and even a bit above that, he said.
But an inch to an inch and a half of rain fell in a very short amount of time, Grigsby said. "That basically overwhelmed some of downtown's storm system."
It took about an hour before the floodwaters started to recede downtown, he added, but that was only part of the problem. Like the rest of Kirkland, power went out at the city's sewer-pump stations. But Public Works crews brought out back-up generators to all of the pump stations, so there was no sewage overflow, "which is a pretty big deal because all the stations are located next to water," Grigsby said.
A culvert creek in the Juanita neighborhood also backed up and caused problems during the storm. "That deposited large amounts of rocks and debris on the street," he said.
ParkPlace suffers
Wind and water damage was widespread in Kirkland, and several businesses at ParkPlace were flooded during the storm, which isn't surprising, according to Colin Mercer from the management office at the shopping center. "There were six inches of standing water in places," he said.
One of the businesses that flooded was ParkPlace Books, said co-owner Mary Harris. "We got a little wet," she added with some understatement. In fact, about four inches of water poured into the bookstore through the walls, Harris added. "Within half an hour, we were totally drenched."
That put the store out of business for three days just as holiday shopping started to ramp up, but there were other concerns, she said. "We were real worried we would lose all of the books because of the humidity."
Staff at the store drilled holes in the walls to allow the water to drain out, and the store got permission on Saturday afternoon from mall management to take the carpets out, Harris said. "Once that got done, everything started to dry out."
It was a major hassle taking the carpets out because all the books shelves had to be moved, she added. "But we had lots of help from friends and relatives." And dehumidifiers were set up after power was restored early Sunday morning, which helped dry the store out even more, Harris said.
Other downtown businesses suffered flooding and power outages, but one of the most visible affects of the storm was all the downed trees in Kirkland, Grigsby noted.
Public Works and parks department crews worked together for days to removed the trees from public rights of way, except where downed power lines were involved, he said. In those cases, city crews had to wait for Puget Sound Energy (PSE) to take the lead, he added.
Bridle Trails, Juanita Beach hit hard
Trees in the Bridle Trails area and Juanita Beach were especially hard hit by the storm, Grigsby said. "But I would say there were trees down in almost every part of the city."
Juanita Beach was the worst hit for city trees, according to Jeff Rotter, maintenance supervisor for the Parks Department. "We never got an accurate count," he said, "but we lost a lot of trees."
The wind was funneled across Lake Washington right into all of Juanita Beach, knocking down numerous older trees and damaging some of the park buildings, Rotter said. "The cemetery took a big hit," he added in reference to limbs that were sheered off of all the fir trees there.
With minor exceptions, everything seemed to be back to normal as of the last week of December, said Tracy Burroughs, a senior management analyst with the city. "It seems like most of the trees have been cleaned up," she said, also noting that the power has been restored for everyone in Kirkland.
"The whole city lost power for at least one night," Burroughs said. There wasn't much the city could do about power outage, but it didn't stop a number of upset people in Kirkland called the city to complain, she said.
The city was as much in the dark as anybody, so to speak, about when the power would be restored, Burroughs noted. "We would have liked better information from PSE about the progress (in restoring power), but we never got a consistent answer," she added.
Reported death threats
Puget Sound Energy's call center reportedly got several death threats from upset customers during the days-long blackout, according to an inside source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
PSE spokeswoman Dorothy Bracken hadn't heard about the threats, but she said people's frustration about a lack of information was understandable. The lack of news was unavoidable, though, she said.
"There was so much damage. Three-quarters of our customers' power was out," Bracken said. "It was the worst storm we've seen in our history."
The utility wasn't the only one that came up short informing the public about what was going on, according to City Manager Ramsay. "I think all of us were overwhelmed by requests for information," he said of staffers in different departments. "I think we need to start getting more information out to the community sooner."
But that was only one initial thought about improving the city's response to emergencies. "We are going to do a thorough review," Ramsay stressed.
That review will include a candid look at city departments, along with what went well and what didn't during the storm and its aftermath, he said.
Improvement is absolutely necessary, according to Ramsay. "Our theme is not if, but when," he said of the next emergency situation the city will face.
Ramsay said a large earthquake is at the top of the list, but he concedes it might be another major storm that could hit Kirkland the way the winter storm of 2006 did.
Staff reporter Russ Zabel can be reached at rzabel@nwlink.com or (206) 461-1309.
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