Russian River flooding at Autocamp

Last Tuesday it was apparent that the storm was going to be a big one. The GM at Autocamp spent hours in the morning contacting as many tow truck companies as possible to see who had the ability and the time to tow out the custom Airstream trailers that would flood if left on the property. Mind you, we all expected some flooding, maybe a foot or so, but the Airstreams needed to be out of there by the end of the day just in case the water was higher than expected. The property borders a small, seasonal creek. That creek was getting higher by the hour and it was that creek, not the Russian River, that would do the damage.

The towing began around noon and continued until about 10:00 pm. Finally, with five Airstreams left, the towing companies had to leave. The water was already too high to drag the last of the trailers out. Flooding was expected, maybe a couple of feet.

By Wednesday night those five Airstreams were almost totally under water. The clubhouse, a large concrete and wood structure, is up a flight of stairs from the parking lot. We had no idea that the clubhouse would, at one point, have six feet of standing water and sludge in it. The Russian River crested at more than 13 feet above flood stage. The creek in back of Autocamp had nowhere to go except over its banks.

It was, as has been mentioned, an epic flood. Being a novice to this kind of a flood up close, it is such a reminder of the power of water and the flippancy of nature. With the amount of rain we had in the north bay, the prediction of flood stage was totally underestimated. I went to Autocamp on Friday but didn't get out of the car because only a fool would have done so without boots. I went back, with boots, on Saturday and worked a couple of hours, dragging soaked merchandise out of the shop and loading it into commercial garbage bags to be hauled away. Do you know how heavy a dozen soaked sweatshirts are?  Two dozen soaked tee shirts, piles and piles of wet cardboard? And we aren't talking just soaked, but contaminated with the toxic mud and silt left behind when the water finally receded. The gunk on floor was slippery and gluey and disgusting. We had to muck around in that stuff.

Yesterday, Sunday, I spent almost four hours power washing random furniture that never did get clean. I could get the mud and dirt off but as soon as they dried they looked filthy again. That silt is so fine; the only way it will come off is by sponging it off with soap and water.

Autocamp is closed for the month and it is a long-shot that it will be open by April 1, although we are all doing our best to help that occur. But when you think about all the components, the electrical, the water system, the toxicity of the surfaces, the landscape, the garbage..... there is so much to do.

I have mentioned before that to me Autocamp is just another job and it is, pretty much. But it is sad to see something that was lovely be trashed as it has been by the forces of nature. The good thing is that everyone who works there is a good person and we are all mucking it up to get those Airstreams back and get guests again.

If you haven't, look at their website and you can see how cool it was.  autocamp.com

Below is a photo of the back of the clubhouse. You can see it is up some stairs..... and the ceilings are very high. Imagine it half way filled with water.