Nile residents stock up, just in case

NILE VALLEY, Wash. -- Lisa Todnem has her list -- handwritten on lined paper and really long -- ready to go.

This weekend, she's stocking up on staples -- from flour and sugar to pasta, olive oil, dried milk and yeast. She needs peanut butter, too.

And rice and beans, canned fruits and vegetables, dried soup and trail mix, buckets, batteries, Band-Aids, tarps, paper towels, bath soap, baking soda, cornmeal and oatmeal, among other items, including food for Dirty Harry, the dog.

"We've always got wood on hand. We've always got gas on hand," she says. "We are really well prepared just because you live in the boonhillies."

Still, just to be safe, "We're going to go do the big list this weekend.

"Costco's going to love us," says 40-year-old Todnem, who estimates she and her husband will be spending about $1,000 on supplies.

Just in case.

Two weeks ago today, a massive landslide rerouted the Naches River, buried part of State Route 410 and forced some residents from their homes.

Authorities have cautioned residents who live east of Chinook Pass and west of the slide area on State Route 410 to prepare for a long period of isolation, as many as 30 to 45 days. Folks who live here in the mountains and foothills of the Cascade Range are handling the warning like they do most circumstances -- banding together with a sense of humor, hardiness and it's-not-the-end-of-the-world attitude.

"We're pretty self-reliant," says 74-year-old Phyllis Parks. "You have to be. That's one thing about living up here. It makes you do for yourself and think for yourself."

At the same time, "We all pull together if something like this happens," she says. "You know your neighbors are going to help you."

Parks lives next door to her daughter, Sandy Scott, 52, along the section of State Route 410 that's now limited to local access because of the slide. This time of year, they're used to seeing traffic -- hunters, leaf-peepers, hikers, mountain bikers.

"All of a sudden, there's nothing," Scott says. "It feels like a ghost town."

Her mom jokes, "We have a cul-de-sac."

Those who remain -- in about 350 to 400 households, according to Community Emergency Response Team coordinator Pam Brown -- are preparing to hunker down for a month or longer, if need be.

"I don't think it will be that long, but it depends on what happens. You just don't know," says Parks, who was born up at the old Nile mill and lives in the home her late parents built in 1946.

"We'll be OK. We keep stocked up on pretty much everything all the time," she says. "Up here, you don't run to town every day. You have to be able to cope, have patience, because things don't happen really fast up here."

Like others born and raised in the Nile Valley, Parks is used to run-ins with Mother Nature: "It's part of your upbringing."

Her daughter, sitting in front of the fireplace at her mom's place, says, "We could go a month easy" without going to town.

"Probably longer than that," Parks says. "We'd run out of milk, but we could eat."

And they're in good company. Many Nile Valley residents say they live in a perennial state of emergency preparedness -- or at least partial preparedness.

Weather could cause more havoc

Flooding isolated Nile Valley residents for about two weeks back in 1996. Power failures are common in this close-knit mountain community, especially during
stormy weather. And heavy snowfall almost always closes Chinook Pass for the winter, cutting off access to
Buckley, Enumclaw, Puyall-up and the Interstate 5 corridor.

Now, there's the possibil-ity rain could cause the hill to slide again. And the rising waters of the Naches River could flood Nile Road, the temporary link between the Nile Valley and communities to the east, including Yakima and Naches.

When the snow comes, Nile Valley residents could be cut off from both sides. Authorities say it's not a matter of if, but when. Nile Road, says Yakima County Commissioner Mike Leita, will wash out.

"There's no way it's going to stay there. Don't think it is," he told a crowd of about 175 people gathered at Nile Valley Community Church on Thursday afternoon. "You still have to anticipate a closure. There are no guarantees here."

Meanwhile, despite the temporary detour route, the landslide is taking a toll on Nile Valley businesses, which usually see an influx of hunters and campers this time of year.

"The businesses up here are really hurting," Scott says. "It's scary for the local economy to be like this."

At Whistlin' Jack Lodge, general manager Shane Williams says business has dropped to about a third of what it normally is this time of year.

Since the slide, "There's been a substantial loss of business," says the 43-year-old Williams, the third generation of his family to run the lodge. "We've laid off quite a bit of staff."

Some employees have had their hours reduced. Still, Williams says, "We're trying to function as normal as possible."

He wants folks to know: "We're here, and we're open. We're ready to serve the public."

And he's thankful for the locals, regulars and other supporters who have been calling to check in.

"After this all happened, the phone didn't quit ringing here," Williams says. "Friends of the lodges were calling, asking can we do anything for you? Can we bring generators? Can we bring gas? People here help each other. They don't expect anything for it. They just help to help."

Losing power and access is a concern, Parks says. "But you have to go on with your life. Right now, I feel safe enough."

She'll stock up on a few things -- medical supplies, groceries -- this week. Over the weekend, she was planning to put together her new generator. She bought it last week for about $600.

Just in case.

Getting to school

Charles Adams lives on SR 410. His 12-year-old great-grandson, a fifth-grader, lives with him.

"I don't know how he'd get to school if they did close the road," Adams says.

Officials at the Naches Valley School District are
still developing a contin-gency plan for its 47 students who would be affected if
Nile Road washes out and
access is blocked for an ex-
tended period. Superinten-dent Duane Lyons says he
hopes to have the plan final-ized by the end of the week.

"I hope we never need it," he says.

District officials are considering a couple scenarios: What to do if access becomes blocked during a school day while students are in class, and what to do if access is cut while students are at home at night or over the weekend.

Permission slips allowing students to stay with friends or relatives on the other side of the slide will likely be sent home soon.

If the road gets blocked while students are at home -- and access remains blocked for several weeks -- Lyons is working on securing a location and coordinating with staff members to set up
"a little one-room school-house," of sorts.

In addition to 47 students, there are two teachers, a teacher's aide, a bus driver and a couple custodians who live west of the slide area and could be cut off from getting to school if the Nile Road washes out.

Once plans are finalized, Lyons says, district officials will be getting more information to parents.

"I'm guessing there might be something that we haven't thought of," he says. But, "I absolutely trust the people up there to adapt and work at taking care of each other the best they can."

Brown, the emergency response team coordinator, is ready. She's lived in the Nile Valley since 1993.

"I'm perpetually prepared," she says. "We know these things happen when you live in the mountains. It's old hat."

Most staying put

If folks aren't sure they can survive a month or more in the mountains, Brown suggests they consider temporarily relocating below the slide area.

Todnem and her family are staying put.

"I think most people that live out here understand there's some inconvenience at times," she says. "You just make sure you have your ducks in a row and everything will be fine."

An insurance agent, she works in an office in Yakima. But she has the ability to work from home as long as she has Internet access. Work slows in winter for her husband, Michael McClellan, 43, a general contractor.

The couple have two children -- an 8-year-old third-grader and a 5-year-old kindergartner -- at Naches Valley schools.

"I can handle figuring out how to stay home and keep everybody entertained," Todnem says. "If the parents don't freak out, the kids don't freak out. If you're calm, they're calm."

The Todnem-McClellan homestead is located in the shadow of the slide, just across and up Nile Road from the diverted river. Todnem loves living here.

"I just like not having to look into my neighbor's window and watching them eat spaghetti," she says. "I like the space. I like the distance. It's peaceful out here. It's quiet. I don't mind the isolation."

As far as getting stuck here goes, she says, "There's nothing scary in that for us, as long as nobody gets sick or breaks a leg."

In fact, Todnem says she's less concerned about being stuck in the Nile than being stuck in the Nile without electricity. The family has a small generator.

"It won't run the whole house," Todnem says. "It won't run the furnace. Worst-case scenario, we have a wood stove out in the shop. We can go huddle around it."

Meantime, they've got some shopping to do, some emergency supplies to buy.

Just in case.

* Adriana Janovich can be reached at 509-577-7653 or ajanovich@yakimaherald.com.