Chehalis Flood work
A week after this year's te
rrible flood in Lewis County, a team of members went south to see how they could help. After working for several hours clearing mud at a couple of homes along the Chehalis River, they took a chance and went down a private road where they discovered three homes that had been destroyed by the river. Thus began the story of Billy Laymon. Billy's home is located high above the river and had never been touched by water before, but because of the amount of logs and debris washed away the river kept forming dams along the flood route. The water rose 30+ feet and took out Billy's home. It lifted the house, cracked the foundation, and deposited several inches of silt throughout the A frame.
The first day we arrived Billy was standing in his front yard with what was left of his water holding tank. He was in shock as he told us to go inside his home and clean and do whatever we needed to do. We spent the afternoon ripping out cabinets and cleaning out mud. We returned on Friday, December 21, 2007 with six workers and found Billy in better spirits and shape. We spent the day cleaning the remaining mud, working on his appliances, bleaching the walls and floors, and cleaning his tools. His garage had been flooded and mud had settled into every drawer of his tool chests. After a full day working side-by-side with Billy and his brother Mike they became more than people who needed help - they became friends.