Rescue......

I came home this evening to a coast guard helicopter circling, and a Coast guard boat going up and down the coast quite close in, I assumed like so many nights that they were out doing a drill. Then I saw all the emergency vehicles driving up and down the beach and realized that this was no dril, it was a real rescue situation. My neighbors called me to ask if I'd heard what was going on and I called a friend who's husband is a local volunteer firefighter and found that someone had lost a child to the surf. After more than 4 hours I realized that it probably wasn't a rescue. The coast guard continued the search for 4 1/2 hours and our local volunteers are still out riding up and down the beach slowly scanning the surf with binoculars.

I know I'll hear the whole story tomorrow on the news and in the papers, but it's heart wrenching to watch and to know the suffering the family is going through. This is the first time in my almost 11 years at Heceta Beach that I've ever seen something like this. But it's summer and the beaches are packed with people. I watched 6 unattended children under the age of 10 play in the surf while the full search was going on... The ocean while somewhat tame in the summer, is always really dangerous. Just 2 days ago I had warned my current guests and their young daughter about it.

Thanks to our volunteers who go out for long hours to help in these horrible situations. The sun is about an hour from setting and it appears that they are going to stay out till it gets dark. My thoughts are with the family of the lost child!!!

Tides for Siuslaw River Entrance 6/23 - 7/6

Tides for Siuslaw River Entrance starting
with June 23, 2005.

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon
          /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

Th  23     High  12:42 AM     8.4   5:34 AM     Set  6:51 AM      99
   23      Low   7:59 AM    -2.4   9:03 PM    Rise 11:14 PM
   23     High   2:41 PM     6.1
   23      Low   7:45 PM     2.8

F   24     High   1:33 AM     8.3   5:35 AM     Set  8:14 AM      95
   24      Low   8:46 AM    -2.3   9:03 PM    Rise 11:51 PM
   24     High   3:29 PM     6.2
   24      Low   8:42 PM     2.6

Sa  25     High   2:27 AM     7.9   5:35 AM     Set  9:38 AM      88
   25      Low   9:34 AM    -2.0   9:03 PM
   25     High   4:17 PM     6.3
   25      Low   9:43 PM     2.4

Su  26     High   3:24 AM     7.2   5:35 AM    Rise 12:19 AM      80
   26      Low  10:22 AM    -1.4   9:04 PM     Set 10:59 AM
   26     High   5:05 PM     6.5
   26      Low  10:49 PM     2.1

M   27     High   4:26 AM     6.4   5:36 AM    Rise 12:42 AM      70
   27      Low  11:11 AM    -0.7   9:03 PM     Set 12:15 PM
   27     High   5:53 PM     6.7

Tu  28      Low  12:00 AM     1.8   5:36 AM    Rise  1:02 AM      59
   28     High   5:35 AM     5.7   9:03 PM     Set  1:29 PM
   28      Low  12:01 PM     0.2
   28     High   6:41 PM     6.9

W   29      Low   1:13 AM     1.3   5:37 AM    Rise  1:22 AM      48
   29     High   6:53 AM     5.0   9:03 PM     Set  2:41 PM
   29      Low  12:53 PM     1.1
   29     High   7:29 PM     7.1

Th  30      Low   2:24 AM     0.8   5:37 AM    Rise  1:42 AM      37
   30     High   8:17 AM     4.7   9:03 PM     Set  3:52 PM
   30      Low   1:48 PM     1.8
   30     High   8:17 PM     7.2

F    1      Low   3:27 AM     0.1   5:38 AM    Rise  2:04 AM      27
    1     High   9:40 AM     4.7   9:03 PM     Set  5:02 PM
    1      Low   2:46 PM     2.5
    1     High   9:03 PM     7.3

Sa   2      Low   4:22 AM    -0.4   5:38 AM    Rise  2:29 AM      18
    2     High  10:53 AM     4.9   9:03 PM     Set  6:12 PM
    2      Low   3:44 PM     2.9
    2     High   9:49 PM     7.4

Su   3      Low   5:10 AM    -0.8   5:39 AM    Rise  3:01 AM      11
    3     High  11:52 AM     5.2   9:03 PM     Set  7:18 PM
    3      Low   4:38 PM     3.2
    3     High  10:33 PM     7.4

M    4      Low   5:54 AM    -1.0   5:39 AM    Rise  3:40 AM      6
    4     High  12:39 PM     5.4   9:02 PM     Set  8:19 PM
    4      Low   5:28 PM     3.3
    4     High  11:16 PM     7.4

Tu   5      Low   6:34 AM    -1.1   5:40 AM    Rise  4:28 AM      2
    5     High   1:19 PM     5.6   9:02 PM     Set  9:10 PM
    5      Low   6:13 PM     3.2
    5     High  11:57 PM     7.3

W    6      Low   7:11 AM    -1.2   5:41 AM    Rise  5:24 AM      0
    6     High   1:55 PM     5.7   9:02 PM     Set  9:53 PM
    6      Low   6:54 PM     3.1

First large-scale tsunami warning since 1980

Well a bunch has gone on since the cancelled Tsunami warning. Our town said they messed up as a whole... Luckily it wasn't for real. Emergency lines were inundated with non-emergency calls, they never engaged the reverse 911 call system, so those of us waiting for that were idiots! City Hall, the Police, The Fire Department, and our radio station didn't have any lines open to call each other. All of this is going to be changed, along with going back to the old fashioned air raid sirens...

" FLORENCE - Oregon emergency managers spent Wednesday analyzing their response to the previous night's tsunami warning, looking for flaws in their plans.

Two problems were immediately clear: Conflicting bulletins confused some emergency managers - one said there was no warning in effect, the other issued an alert. And coastal communities reacted to the warning differently. Some evacuated their residents. Others didn't, waiting for word of an actual tsunami from the National Weather Service.

The thing to do, said state earthquake and tsunami program coordinator Jay Wilson, was to clear out low-lying areas as soon as the warning came.

"If we waited for how long it took scientists to basically scale down the size of the earthquake, it would have been too late," Wilson said.

In fact, if a tsunami had been generated from Tuesday's quake, it would have hit shore before it struck buoys in the ocean that scientists rely on to detect tsunamis, said geophysicist Bruce Turner, directing the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, which issued the alert after a magnitude 7 earthquake struck off the coast of Northern California on Tuesday night.

"Travel time to the buoys was about 48 minutes," Turner said of the "what if" estimates from last night's readings. "Travel time to the coast was 30 minutes. The buoys didn't help us as much as we would have liked."

But Florence officials told callers to stand by and listen for more information on the radio, Siuslaw Valley Fire Protection District Chief John Buchanan said. He consulted with the Florence city manager and port manager and decided to wait." Read about this in the Register Guard.

"In the coastal community of Florence, there were no evacuations or warning sirens. Instead, people parked their cars at the peak of coastal cliffs between Florence and Yachats to watch the water, The Register-Guard of Eugene reported. "Read the story from KATU.

Our neighborhood, which includes the 4 houses, and 4 vacation rentals, have developed a plan for the next one, which includes the vacationers who won't be expecting it. We all agreed we should have left the first time, standing around discussing it, while waiting for the official call was a STUPID idea.

Tsunami Warning Cancelled for Florence Oregon

After living here for 11 years, I experienced my first serious Tsunami warning this evening. While I didn't panic, I also didn't hit the road for higher ground immediately like I probably should have. My first warning came when a relative from the Rogue Valley called. It was a good thing they called as I was sitting in front of my computer totally unaware of it. I went to the Tsunami warning website, and at that point I had 20 minutes to leave based on their predictions. I woke up my husband, put on jeans and sensible shoes, leashed the dog, tried to call my neighbors and then ran to their house, as I knew she was online.

So the four of us stared at NW Cable News trying to figure out whether we should leave or not. All, this while people kept walking by on the beach, many people were unaware it had been issued. Once I received that initial call, my phone and cell phone rang off the hook, with friends who were in safe locales... warning me (all of them know my TV is never on).

We have an emergency information phone system that's supposed to call everyone in a tsunami emergency but my phone never rang and I don't know if our town ever set it in action... They had downgraded it to a Bulletin by the time the initial wave was supposed to hit, 8:49. Of course had a wave been coming we would have all been done for. I learned that a bulletin meant that low lying area's were still threatened but a large damaging wave was unexpected. We then proceeded to watch experts, until they announced another hour later that the whole thing had been cancelled it wasn't the type of quake that generated a tsunami.

This whole thing has made me realize that a bit more of a plan would have made me feel better. I now have a folder of favorites, for Real Time information on Tsunami's so there won't be any searching for it, and I know where to navigate on each site, to get what I need. Interesting experience that makes you realize what you need to do, so you'll be prepared for the real thing. I'll be doing some more planning!!

Florence Tides June 7-14

Tides for Suislaw River Entrance
starting with June 7, 2005.

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon
           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

Tu   7     High  12:15 AM     7.6   5:34 AM    Rise  5:43 AM      0
     7      Low   7:27 AM    -1.3   8:57 PM     Set 10:25 PM
     7     High   2:10 PM     5.8
     7      Low   7:10 PM     3.2

W    8     High  12:51 AM     7.4   5:34 AM    Rise  6:34 AM      1
     8      Low   8:05 AM    -1.2   8:58 PM     Set 11:14 PM
     8     High   2:50 PM     5.8
     8      Low   7:50 PM     3.3

Th   9     High   1:28 AM     7.2   5:34 AM    Rise  7:32 AM      3
     9      Low   8:43 AM    -1.0   8:58 PM     Set 11:53 PM
     9     High   3:30 PM     5.7
     9      Low   8:31 PM     3.3

F   10     High   2:06 AM     6.8   5:33 AM    Rise  8:36 AM      8
    10      Low   9:22 AM    -0.8   8:59 PM
    10     High   4:11 PM     5.6
    10      Low   9:15 PM     3.4

Sa  11     High   2:46 AM     6.5   5:33 AM     Set 12:24 AM      14
    11      Low  10:01 AM    -0.5   8:59 PM    Rise  9:40 AM
    11     High   4:53 PM     5.5
    11      Low  10:04 PM     3.3

Su  12     High   3:30 AM     6.0   5:33 AM     Set 12:49 AM      21
    12      Low  10:41 AM    -0.1   9:00 PM    Rise 10:45 AM
    12     High   5:35 PM     5.5
    12      Low  11:01 PM     3.2

M   13     High   4:19 AM     5.6   5:33 AM     Set  1:10 AM      30
    13      Low  11:22 AM     0.3   9:00 PM    Rise 11:49 AM
    13     High   6:17 PM     5.7

Tu  14      Low  12:05 AM     3.0   5:33 AM     Set  1:29 AM      39
    14     High   5:19 AM     5.1   9:01 PM    Rise 12:53 PM
    14      Low  12:05 PM     0.8
    14     High   6:57 PM     5.9

W   15      Low   1:13 AM     2.5   5:33 AM     Set  1:46 AM      48
    15     High   6:30 AM     4.7   9:01 PM    Rise  1:58 PM
    15      Low  12:50 PM     1.2
    15     High   7:37 PM     6.1

Th  16      Low   2:16 AM     1.9   5:33 AM     Set  2:03 AM      58
    16     High   7:48 AM     4.5   9:02 PM    Rise  3:05 PM
    16      Low   1:39 PM     1.7
    16     High   8:15 PM     6.5

F   17      Low   3:13 AM     1.1   5:33 AM     Set  2:22 AM      68
    17     High   9:06 AM     4.6   9:02 PM    Rise  4:16 PM
    17      Low   2:30 PM     2.2
    17     High   8:55 PM     6.9

Sa  18      Low   4:03 AM     0.2   5:33 AM     Set  2:44 AM      77
    18     High  10:17 AM     4.8   9:02 PM    Rise  5:32 PM
    18      Low   3:24 PM     2.6
    18     High   9:36 PM     7.4

Su  19      Low   4:51 AM    -0.6   5:33 AM     Set  3:11 AM      86
    19     High  11:19 AM     5.2   9:03 PM    Rise  6:51 PM
    19      Low   4:17 PM     2.8
    19     High  10:19 PM     7.8

M   20      Low   5:38 AM    -1.3   5:33 AM     Set  3:46 AM      93
    20     High  12:14 PM     5.5   9:03 PM    Rise  8:11 PM
    20      Low   5:09 PM     3.0
    20     High  11:05 PM     8.2