A flooding Tumwater Creek caused large Pettit Oil Co., tanks at the company’s Marine Drive depot in Port Angeles to tilt like the Leaning Tower of Pisa late Monday and the nearby Plunkin Shack Cafe to close Tuesday.
Oil booms were used to contain a small amount of oil — tens of gallons, Ecology officials said — that leaked at another Pettit site on Marine Drive.
The creek overflowed its banks at about 10:30 p.m. Monday.
East Jefferson County got about 3 inches of rain, but no major flooding, said Keppie Keplinger, spokeswoman for the county’s emergency operations center.
In Port Angeles, about 1.4 miles of Tumwater Truck Route was closed from 10:40 p.m. Monday until 3 a.m. Tuesday because of flooding. Marine Drive also was closed near the stream for about 2 ½ hours before it reopened at about 1 a.m. Tuesday.
The flood was caused by heavy rain and alder trees growing along its bank north of Marine Drive and adjacent to Westport Shipyard.
Port of Port Angeles Public Works Director Gerald Demetriff said the trees were growing into the stream and impeding its flow.
The trees were protected as fish habitat by the state Fish and Wildlife Department, but port Executive Director Jeff Robb used an emergency declaration to allow them to be removed Monday night, he said.
The trees were removed around midnight, Demetriff said, and “the [flood] water went right down” into Port Angeles Harbor.
Demetriff said the trees will not be replanted. Their removal will “definitely” keep another flood from happening, he added.
Empty tanks settled
At the Pettit Oil Co., depot at 638 Marine Drive, about four empty oil tanks settled at a slant after the waters began to recede.
A crew from Affordable Crane worked Tuesday to lift them back into place.
Ron Holcomb, state Department of Ecology hazardous materials specialist, said the tanks have been decommissioned for several years and didn’t present a spill hazard.
At Pettit’s other site, nearby at 527 Marine Drive, some oil drums leaked oil into the flood water, and booms were used to contain the spill.
“I think we’re dealing with tens of gallons of oil, not hundreds,” Holcomb said, adding that the water appeared to have been draining into the ground rather than the harbor.
Pettit will be required to do some soil sampling to determine how much oil contaminated there was in the ground and if any further cleanup is needed, he said.
Holding area
At the 638 Marine Drive location, a few inches of water remained Tuesday around the tanks’ holding area, which was designed to contain any spill.
“It’s doing its job,” said Dwaine Badsley, Pettit compliance director.
Holcomb said some sewage was mixed in with the storm water, but it was heavily diluted.
The company was making plans Tuesday to pump the remaining water out, Badsley said.
“We’re addressing all of the environmental needs,” he said. “It’s an unfortunate accident, and we just got hit with it.”
Perhaps hit the hardest was Pettit’s neighbor, the Plunkin Shack, at 704 Marine Drive.
Plunkin Shack
More than 3 feet of water flooded the restaurant’s basement, destroying its catering equipment and some food, said owners Brian and Patti Larson.
Brian Larson estimated the loss of the equipment to be between $20,000 and $25,000.
It was unclear to him on Tuesday how much of the damage his insurance would cover.
“It’s just dandy,” he said glumly.
He estimated that the restaurant will remain closed for about a week.
After about seven years in business, the couple said they have never had a problem with flooding until this week.
Patti Larson said the loss of the equipment also means she will have to cancel all her catering orders through the holidays.
“I was in shock up to several hours ago,” she said.
“If I start to think about it, I start to cry,” she added.
The couple expects to lose all of their food since they also had to shut of the restaurant’s electricity because of flooding.
But Patti Larson said that is less of a concern than the catering equipment. Food stocks were low since they were just about to make new food orders.
Westport Shipyards and Platypus Marine did not report any problems from flooding.
Areas outside of Port Angeles in Clallam County weathered this week’s storms without significant damage.
Jefferson County
East Jefferson County got about 3 inches of rain, but no major flooding, said Keppie Keplinger, spokeswoman for the county’s emergency operations center.
Jefferson County residents traveling down Highway 101 on Tuesday found traffic crawling, as flaggers directed traffic through one lane until late afternoon.
A mud slide at 9 p.m. Monday had blocked both lanes of the highway about one-half mile north of Eagle Creek Road, the state Department of Transportation said. Late Tuesday morning, state road crews cleared enough of the highway to direct traffic through one lane on an alternating pattern.
1.53 inches in Forks
Forks had 1.53 inches of rain at the Quillayute Airport on Tuesday.
More inclement weather is expected today, with more rain and windy conditions in the National Weather Service forecast.
As of Tuesday evening, damage in unincorporated Clallam County was minimal.
“We haven’t had any damage reported; a lot of water, certainly, but nothing that we’ve heard of,” said Penny Linterman, Clallam County Emergency Management program manager.
“So it’s batten down the hatches, and get ready for the next storm.”
Craig Jacobs, Clallam County’s public works director, said some of the rivers reached flood stage but not to the degree that the county considers serious. No roads had to be closed because of overflowing rivers.
Power outages
The Clallam County Public Utilities District reported several weather-related power outages Monday night into Tuesday.
“Trees in lines have been the main culprit,” said Jeff Beaman, Clallam County PUD spokesman.
Power was out for 82 customers on the Hoh Reservation from 7:30 p.m. Monday until 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Beaman said.
At Port Williams, 115 customers were without power on Tuesday from 1:15 to 1:50 p.m.
Seventy-seven customers were without power from 6:10 a.m. until 9:30 a.m. on Strait View Drive east of Port Angeles.
The Diamond Point area was without power for 3 ½ hours until 1 a.m. Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Port Angeles police closed Tumwater Truck route in Port Angeles from 10:40 p.m. Monday until 3 a.m. Tuesday because of water on the roadway.
A backed-up Tumwater Creek inundated the Petit Oil Co. depot at 638 Marine Drive.
Near Neah Bay, crews opened both lanes of state Highway 112 at milepost 2 near Bullman Creek at 3 p.m. Tuesday. A mud slide blocked the road for two hours Monday until state Department of Transportation crews opened an alternating lane.
Olympic National Park reported fog, snow, and winds of 15 mph to 20 mph at Hurricane Ridge on Tuesday. Hurricane Ridge Road will remain closed until Friday morning because of accumulated snow and ice.
Snow level is predicted to drop from 2,000 feet today. An avalanche warning is in effect in the Olympic Mountains.
Park officials have closed the Hoh Road at the park boundary as crews remove downed trees.
Downed trees blocked a section of U.S. Highway 101 in Grays Harbor County until about 8 a.m. Tuesday.
