By ROB DEHARPORT/for The Herald — It’s hard for this “old” Oakridge boy to believe that it’s been sixty years since the devastating Christmas Flood of 1964.
Our weather this December has been somewhat similar. A hard freeze here where I now live at Crescent Lake of single digit nighttime temperatures followed by more snow. Currently, on December 17th we have 38″ of snow. Summit Lake has 68″ of snow. It’s been reported that we now have 180% of normal snow in the Cascades for this time of year. Unfortunately, high freezing levels and an atmospheric river of rain is in forecast. Let’s hope it’s nothing like December in 1964!
I was a 5-year Kindergarten kid in Mrs. Hemm’s class back then. My family had recently suffered a catastrophic loss of our store and home due to an electrical fire.
While our home and store were in the early stages of being rebuilt, we rented a home on Salt Creek. It was one of the two homes swept down river during the peak of the flood on Salt Creek. The other home was Doctor Varney’s located just downstream from us. Three homes and a cabin above us suffered extensive damage as well with 6-8′ of mud, rock, silt and debris surrounding and inside the houses.
I’ve been researching info and images for this story for several days. There is a massive number of stories and information about this 100-year flood as it was called on the internet.
During the fire that destroyed our store and home not much was salvaged as the buildings were quickly engulfed in fire. Thankfully, my mom’s hope chest was grabbed before the fire that began in the store reached the adjoining house.
I remember plenty about of the house on Salt Creek considering we didn’t live there very long at all. What kid wouldn’t remember living on a river for the first time?! Some of my memories are likely from stories told by my parents and grandparents about this time in our lives.
As Salt Creek continued to rise, we could see entire trees and logs being flushed downriver and hear the sound of heavy rocks and boulders being tumbled downstream. As the river rose, Dad took a handsaw down the cement steps to the river and cut into the bark of an old growth Douglass Fir tree. He placed a stick on the saw then returned to the house saying, “When that stick floats off of that saw, we are leaving.” We looked at the tree and saw that the saw was already under water.
We quickly packed what little we had, placed Christmas presents on the dining room table as a precaution, expecting to return the next day or before Christmas. We loaded up and went to my grandparents’ house on Teller Road in Oakridge.
The next morning Dad went to check on the house. Sadly, our house and Dr. Varney’s house was gone; swept off their foundations along with all of the possessions inside. Mom’s hope chest was found by a bulldozer operator and friend of the family while re-channeling the river. It is believed that a huge log jam somewhere upriver had broken loose and sent a rush of water and debris downstream during the night. Some of the family photos in the Cedar chest were restored, only to be destroyed by another fire years later.
The damage upstream was unimaginable. Both Highway 58 bridges above Oakridge were destroyed and washed away. As were both bridges below our house leading to the south side of Salt Creek and the recently finished Hills Creek Dam.
The Corps of Engineers were worried about many of the flood control dams being overwhelmed during this flood, including Hills Creek Dam. Thankfully, they were able to prevent any breaching of these newly constructed dams.
Roadside snow level during that storm in ’64, measured at the top of Willamette Pass was 72″ prior to the atmospheric river or “Pineapple Express” arriving in Oregon, SW Washington and northern California. That 72″ was reduced to 24″ by the warm and heavy rains within 48 hours.
Below, nearly 15 miles of highway 58 were destroyed, damaged or completely washed away by that storm. Crater Lake at that time normally received 12″ of December rain, before Christmas in 1964 Crater Lake recorded 38″ of rain. Albany normally received 6″ for the entire month, received 13″ prior to Christmas. The Salmon Creek Bridge on Fish Hatchery Road was also destroyed, along with the Deception Creek Bridge. Also destroyed was the Mill Pond Dam at the Hines Lumber Mill in Westfir. Oakridge and Westfir were cut off by the destruction for a time.
Even near John Day the flood destroyed the recently constructed $2 million Interstate 80 bridge (now I-84), killing a man who was driving across it.
700 hundred families were evacuated in Lane County. 17 people died in Oregon from the flood. Damages in Oregon totaled $500 million. Which is equivalent to $500,088,596,774 today. That’s a 917% cost increase in 60 years. Much of what was then called Willamette City was flooded. Including the Willamette City Grade School (now called the Willamette Activity Center or WAC). It had not yet been annexed into the City of Oakridge.
On December 22 of that year, Governor Hatfield declared a statewide state of emergency. In Northern California, Humboldt County suffered damages of $100 million alone. The Willamette National Forest damage was estimated to be $3 million as most logging roads and bridges were washed out or damaged. 90% of active or future planned timber sales were cutoff by damaged roads, which compounded the economic impact.
Recently built Sand Prairie Campground was covered by 18″ of silt. Secret and Cynosure Campgrounds were severely damaged. Blue Pool Campground lost 14 picnic tables that were washed downstream. $80,000 dollars alone were spent to remove logs and debris from Hills Creek Reservoir. $250,000 was spent to remove the same from other Willamette River System reservoirs.
Many years, perhaps nearly 30 years after the flood I discovered a large part the rock fireplace chimney from our house had been partially exposed by erosion. Also, an outdoor faucet with a hose still attached was found in the middle of Salt Creek not far from where the house was located. Crazy.
Thankfully, we very rarely see Mother Nature release such havoc here in Oregon. My family survived not only the house and store fire and the flood in ’64, but also another house and store fire in 1975. That fire started because of a sudden power outage that cancelled an ongoing baseball night game at Zeigler Field that I was playing in.
We went home from the game due to no lights at the field. Dad was getting a lantern ready to take across the Highway for a neighbor when some lantern fuel spilled and ignited.
Again, we survived and rebuilt with the help of great family and friends. Also, a strong dose of stubborn determination from my parents. I’m forever grateful for both of them passing along a small portion of those traits, my grandparents as well passed along the same traits. We all are a product of the environment, community, families and times that we grew up in. I wouldn’t trade growing up in Oakridge/Westfir in the 60s and 70s for anywhere.
I recently copied a quote by the fictional John Dutton of the television series Yellowstone. “God gives us tragedies so we can pass along how we survived it along to the next generation of sufferers, if that makes any sense. And maybe someday all that knowledge leads to no tragedies at all.”
All of this history, as tragic as it was, helps a person become a bit more empathetic when you see or read about similar events across the country and world. We are more resilient than many believe, our ancestors and families before us are proof of that resilience and determination.
Let’s hope and pray for a happy and dry holiday season this year, Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Others and a very Merry Christmas!
George Custer lives in Oakridge with his wife Sayre. George is a former smokejumper from his hometown of Cave Junction, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. and ran a construction company in Southern California. George assumed the volunteer duties as the Editor of the Highway 58 Herald in 2022. He loves riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, building all things wood, and playing drums on the weekends in his office.
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I was almost 5 years old and do remember going out in the evening to look at the flood with my family. We joined others from town as we all watched the thunderous river near Hwy 58 and Green Waters Park. Thank you, Rob, for your beautifully well written description of that monumental natural event. The other big Oakridge event I remember from the 60s was when there was a huge fire next to the Lucky U, where the bowling alley is now, I believe. Becky (Farrier) Weide