PORT TOWNSEND — The cost estimate for repairing damages from storms earlier this month in East Jefferson County is at least $1.7 million, according to statistics assembled by county officials.
“The costs could change,” said Bob Hamlin, Department of Emergency Management director.
“A lot of this is guesswork and depends on what kinds of plan the agencies develop for cleanup.”
Hamlin’s estimates are for five agencies.
According to his calculations, Jefferson County Public Works’ costs will be the highest: $625,000.
He estimated that the Jefferson County Public Utility District costs would be $430,000; those of the Port Townsend Water District, $400,000; with costs to the Brinnon Fire District, where one station was flooded, to be $225,000 and those of the Hoh tribe $40,000.
That totals $1.72 million.
While Hamlin estimates the PUD’s share is $430,000, PUD Manager Jim Parker said the total could be closer to $500,000 — which would raise repairs costs overall to $1,790,000.
Three storms hit the North Olympic Peninsula in one week.
The storms caused damage across the Peninsula. East Jefferson County was hit especially hard during the high winds of the third storm Dec. 11.
That evening’s windstorm knocked trees into power lines and caused at least brief outages for about 70 percent of the utility district’s 18,500 electrical customers.
About half the outages lasted for more than an hour, Parker said, and many customers were without power for days.
Eight Brinnon families were rescued from high water in their homes and several others evacuated on their own after the Dosewallips River breached its banks.
Costs in Clallam County are unknown as yet.
Mike Howe, Clallam County Public Utility District spokesman, said figures were not available last week.
Clallam County Undersheriff and emergency manager Ron Peregrin could not be reached for information.
Clallam County PUD reported that 563 customers lost electrical power Dec. 10 and the Elwha River Bridge over U.S. Highway 101 west of Port Angeles was closed for more than 12 hours that day because of fallen trees.
In LaPush, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers crews successfully shored up eroding levies Dec. 11.
In Jefferson County, Public Works repairs will be in five areas: Dosewallips, Snow Creek, The Lazy C, all in Brinnon; as well as the Larry Scott Trail and — on the West End — Quinault South Shore.
Culvert repairs, wind damage and flood damage from throughout the county were included.
“Costs could easily be higher for the damage,” said County Administrator Philip Morley.
“They could jump beyond that if state and federal agencies later on require offsetting habitat mitigation for storm repair work on the Hoh, South Quinault and Dosewallips rivers,” he said.
The Hoh and South Quinault rivers are in West Jefferson County.
Morley said the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Highway Administration could possibly reimburse the county.
“It is uncertain whether damage from these storms will qualify for reimbursement,” he said.
“While our county sustained enough damage to meet FEMA thresholds for eligibility, Washington state as a whole also has its own separate threshold which must be met before Jefferson County would be eligible, and that state threshold may be hard to reach because of how localized last week’s storm was.”
Hamlin said he did not think Jefferson County would meet that threshold.
Morley said some cleanup and repairs are completed by the road crew during regular hours and are already budgeted and would not be eligible for FEMA.
“Typically, only overtime work for existing staff can be eligible, as well as unanticipated contractor work,” he said.
Parker said the final costs as well as data about how many customers were affected and for how long will be assembled in the next two weeks.
While all customers now are back online, there is substantial cleanup yet to come, including the large section of a pole near Indian Island that caused a three-day blackout on Marrowstone Island.
Parker said the greatest cost originates from crews brought in to handle the extra load.
Michels Corp., a national contractor, will get the biggest share at $200,000, while about $50,000 will be allocated to Mason County crews, Parker said.
The remainder of the costs are for overtime and equipment, he said.
The costs will be covered by the PUD’s operating fund, which contains $10 million at a time, Parker said.
Unanticipated expenses would not lead to a rate increase, he said.
Parker said the calculation of specific costs is delayed because staff is incorporating a new accounting system.
“If you come back in three weeks, I can give you better figures, but right now, it is just an estimate,” he said.
“If we were trying to qualify for emergency funding, getting the numbers would be a more urgent process.”
Parker said the PUD performed well during the emergency and is prepared for future events.
“The winter isn’t over,” Parker said.
“We could get hit again, and it would cost us another half-million dollars.”
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
