August 2022 Hail Storm

August 11, 2022 will be a day that will live long in the memories of the residents of Wallowa, OR.

 It was a day like any summer day. A few residents received storm warnings on their phone through one app or another, but most had no warning. The warning stated hail storm possibility but no more than this. The National Weather service in Pendleton claims a broad warning was sent, but apparently the technology failed.

 In late afternoon wind increased; hailstones larger than anyone had experienced began to fall.

A tornado-like wind propelled them into the west facing sides of houses, buildings and all unprotected automobiles. The chaos lasted 14 minutes. The noise was deafening; so intense almost no one realized all of their west facing windows had been shattered. As soon as it stopped there was silence. A quick look out of windows revealed overhead lines lying in the street. There was power, no landline phone service, no television. The eerie silence was soon broken by residents coming out of their homes to survey damage. Sone had no autos to drive as the windshields were shattered or blown out altogether. All Emergency and City of Wallowa workers responded to the Fire station and City Hall. No one knew this building would become the emergency center of the community for days. Police agencies soon arrived from Enterprise. They drove the streets, shouting to the many residents standing numb in their yards to go to City Hall for assistance.

At that moment no one in Wallowa knew what had hit the community, just that it contained very large hail. The next evening after power was restored, Portland KGW television weather service devoted 20 minutes of airtime to explaining the science of the storm. This video is available today online. Today we hear on national news of large hail in many places in the United States and it is attributed to climate change.

Problems unfolded rapidly. The first to be addressed was treating the wounded. Wallowa was very lucky that all that were injured suffered light wounds and the number of persons injured was not large. All ambulances available responded to Wallowa. A triage area was established at the Fire Station. Crowds arrived at the Station and City Hall, all needing help of some kind. Four cell phones and one landline began to ring endlessly. This would not stop for many days. The elderly and alone were the first priority. Police agencies told all who were able to start checking neighbors and relatives to see if all were safe. This house to house checking would go on for many days until all were accounted for and pronounced safe. Other problems emerged-a lack of transportation from so many disabled vehicles, a small fuel spill that was handled quickly by volunteers and concern for animals that had suffered from the storm.

Within hours, a large truck from 1917 Lumber arrived bearing sheets of plywood to cover windows. This was not ordered. This generous business simply anticipated the need and came to Wallowa. Those with working vehicles quickly hauled the load away to the many needy homes. Another truck would arrive soon, and another the next day, without anyone asking for help. It was just the first example of help to arrive from the Upper Valley.

Another arrival was John Hillock. He brought generators from the County as Wallowa did not possess the needed generators. His first concern was for the sewer plant. The plant could survive some hours without power. A power source was needed, as it was not known when power could be restored. John hooked up the generators and got them working the next day-just in time to avoid a disastrous spill into the river.

Law enforcement told Mayor Gary Hulse to invoke a curfew for persons under 18 years of age. This was done. The next day was very hot; no businesses could open without power and all ice in ice machines had melted. Community Connections established a cooling center and provided food and water in the Wallowa Senior Center. Relatives from other areas began to arrive to help families clean their homes. The second night was a little easier, as beds filled with broken glass had been cleaned and no one had to sleep in tents and on floors in unclean rooms. The Emergency and City workers would live in glass filled homes for several days as they could not find time to clean. Some resorted to motels until homes could be made livable. The chaos was over, but recovery would take a long time.

The staff at Center for Wellness arrived two nights after the storm. A community meeting was called to address needs. The meeting was attended by about 100 people, that is, those who heard about it. In any case, the mental health advocates alerted County authorities that trauma existed in the Community and they would be setting up programs for those who needed to talk or someone to listen. They also reported to County authorities that meeting attendees needed answers to questions about their lives and homes. Sometimes these answers waited many weeks to arrive. The elderly were the most needy. They were never marginalized. The City called on many volunteers to help elderly residents, even if the problem was a minor one.

The issue of glass filled bedding was a problem. A private benefactor in Joseph arrived to ask what needs could be filled. Within a day new clean bedding arrived in the community. This generosity was repeated weeks later when the benefactor adopted the home of Wallowa's oldest man, and restored it to usability. School opening approached, dozens of pairs of new shoes arrived, enough for each child who had school shoes ruined by glass to select a pair.

The Home Depot Corporation sent a truck filled with construction items. Many churches in the community stepped forward offering insurance vouchers for windshields, free community meals at the Senior Center and other kindnesses.

The local State Forestry crew and Joseph Charter School students arrived to clean foliage. Wallowa County sent large dumpsters to throw away debris. The foliage would later be burned. All of these kind helpers from other areas helped to relieve the City workers. Our City Hall was quite a sight! Long sheets of papers, hopefully to record each name and phone number of those needing help quickly became unusable as they were lost, torn or muddied on the floor. Two City employees went down with Covid. Volunteers manned the phone lines.

Another problem that went unaddressed was communication, Community meetings or free meals were often unannounced to many residents. Citizens were told to always alert neighbors to events. Social Media was also used. The City searched for a way to have a signboard, but this never came to fruition.

The politicians arrived in the weeks following the storm. The State of Oregon has plans, published budgets, and processes all written and practiced for earthquakes, tsunamis, flood and forest fires. The politicians were unsure how to put together a funding package for this unknown event. The State Emergency Board put together some guidelines and funds were granted accordingly. The Politician gave the City the same advice-call all State Senators and representatives and ask for money. A round of visiting political figures came to visit and/or City representatives went to meet others. From these contacts, the solution to the problems came into view.

The Blue Mountain Long Term Recovery team is based in Pendleton and Walla Walla. They were formed when those areas had devastating floods six years ago.  Its administration is funded through United Way. The politicians in Eastern Oregon asked the team to consider recovery work in Wallowa. They agreed, but as they have no funds to do actual restoration work, most of the restoration awaited State Tax funds. The Wallowa Relief Fund at Community Bank provided the first funds to start the work. Eventually, the State of Oregon awarded a 2-million-dollar grant and work got underway. The recovery team is still active in Wallowa today, and continues to rebuild and restore homes for those who do not have the resources to do so. 

One year later, over 50 percent of homes and businesses are rebuilt. The Recovery team estimated at least another year to have full rehabilitation in Wallowa.

Written by Marilyn Hulse, September 2023