Once again, many tackle crisis by working together

This editorial appears in the Oct. 23, 2009, Yakima Herald-Republic.

Residents of the Yakima Valley have a rich history of being resilient and proudly independent. An emergency becomes a challenge to overcome with a firm resolve and a sense of camaraderie where neighbor helps neighbor with little fuss or reluctance.

Such is the case with the natural disaster that befell the Nile community Oct. 11.

The massive landslide that buried a section of State Route 410, choked off passage of the Naches River and destroyed several homes created havoc in daily routines and caused several million dollars in damage to property. A silver lining in all of this is that no one died or suffered serious injuries.

What has been encouraging is the cooperation that has surfaced among county, state and federal officials. Emergency personnel were on hand to provide help to those flooded out of their homes. Road crews have worked tirelessly to keep open a passageway around the slide zone by improving the Nile Road, which runs alongside the Naches River and serves as a bypass around the buried portion of SR 410.

This road work is critically important. If state and county crews fail to reinforce this bypass before high waters come raging down the Naches River, some 600 homes, resorts and other businesses in the Nile Valley and Cliffdell areas could be marooned.

On Tuesday, road work proceeded to such a point that the general public was allowed to drive through the landslide area. That's due to the diligence of state transportation workers to reinforce Nile Road and efforts by Yakima County engineers and crews to dredge out a wider channel in the river. Previously, traffic was restricted to local residents and emergency personnel.

Further work on Nile Road will take place over the next 30 days. State transportation officials express optimism that this will be enough time to secure a roadbed strong enough to withstand the freezing temperatures and high waters of winter.

Despite the fact that the calamity didn't reach to the level of a federal disaster -- damages would have to exceed $7.6 million -- emergency funds are funneling into the stricken area. The federal government will provide $1 million through an emergency relief program that pays for repairs or reconstruction of federal-aid highways that have been damaged by natural disasters. The Nile Valley landslide certainly qualifies for that. Announcement of these funds came jointly from Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Pasco.

In addition, the county is applying for $1 million in low-interest loans from the state's Public Works Trust Fund. Those funds will pay for the new channel that is being carved out of the Naches River where rock and debris was shoved into the existing river channel.

This cooperation is welcome news for those living and working in the Nile Valley. We will need it to continue in the months ahead when more substantial work to the highway and the river channel will be required.

* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Bob Crider, Spencer Hatton and Karen Troianello.