Park recovering from storms

Skamokawa Vista Park is filled with the sounds of chainsaws after getting a needed breather from bad weather. The park’s storm damage clean up has begun.

During the past couple of months the bad weather has knocked over large trees, and in December the deep freeze burst pipes in several of the park’s bathrooms.

The trouble began the second week of November. One of two trees came down in the park, crushing a small camping trailer. “There was about a 35mph wind coming from the south that morning and it wasn’t that strong,” said park manager Steve McClain, “but then the wind just died and boom! - calm day and then the big alder just fell over.”

McClain said there were no injuries. The trailer was total loss. The owners were sad but relieved they weren’t inside when the tree smashed their trailer. They left it in the park for the insurance company to appraise.

The windstorm at the end of November brought down more trees. The largest alder came within inches of crushing one of the park’s yurts. The second tree came down across Pleasant Point Road and badly damaged the back patio of one of the houses on the road. It also took out the power line.

Then, December temperatures dropped to single digits in many places throughout Wahkiakum, and the park suffered still more damage as pipes began to break in the restrooms. “We put heaters in all the bathrooms,” said McClain, “but they just weren’t enough to keep the spaces from freezing.”

McClain said he’s hired a plumber to repair the bathrooms and they should be open again by the end of January. The insurance company appraising the damage to the trailer also recommended the park hire a licensed arborist to go throughout the park tagging any tree determined “dangerous.”

McClain said the park’s board of commissioners have given him the go-ahead to research hiring an arborist. “We haven’t hired one yet,” said McClain, "but we are going to have to.”

McClain said he and his crew are in the process of removing all the fallen debris. The park staff is collecting the downed branches and debris in the park to be burned.

“Right now we’re cutting up the last of the tree that crushed the trailer and making firewood out of it for campers,” McClain said.

The park's portable tent was also badly damaged. The park's bathrooms, already in need of repair, also suffered damage during the November 23 storm when 70 mph gusts ripped through Skamokawa overnight.

Vista Park is one of the county’s vital economic engines. Each year the park attracts over 10,000 campers and visitors to Wahkiakum County.

“We often have a family reunion with over 200 members camping here,” said McClain.

Besides campers, the park caters to hunters and fishermen.