Clallam County got a very gentle wake-up call on Dec. 14.
A mediocre wind storm, only 60 mph, damaged our infrastructure in the same way a major earthquake would.
The Olympic Peninsula was isolated.
Loss of the Bonneville Power Administration main line plunged the whole county into darkness.
The power outage took out our radio stations, cellphone towers and phone services.
Within minutes people were trying to reach 9-1-1 to report damage or call for help.
The emergency dispatch center was jammed.
Gas stations couldn’t pump gas, credit cards didn’t work and businesses had to close.
Roads were blocked by trees.
Highways were jammed.
People dependent on oxygen or dialysis were in danger.
Throughout the day, county, city, state and hospital employees and volunteers responded to the emergency.
They did a great job but many of us were out of power and communications for a day or more.
What if had taken 30 days to fix the problem?
Can you take care of yourself for 30 days?
State emergency management tells Washingtonians to be ready to survive on their own for two weeks.
That is fine if you don’t live here.
Geography is not on our side.
Our best estimate is it will take a minimum of 30 days for help to get to us after the Cascadia earthquake.
Clallam County residents need to be able to take care of themselves for 30 days.
Jim Buck,
Joyce