MALHEUR COUNTY, Oregon — Rachel and Andy Else were left stranded in their home of four years as the Malheur River overflowed its banks this past week.
In the early morning hours, Rachel noticed the river encroaching on their property. “But that river right there, it was all the way on the bench. You can see where there's dirt. You can see... There's a section of dirt above the bushes,” she pointed out.
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After noticing the rising water levels, Rachel quickly contacted Idaho News 6, possibly providing downstream neighbors with an early warning. “Two people told me that, that our phone call kicked off the warning," she said.
Two days later, the water receded enough for the cleanup process to begin. Heavy equipment was saved by moving it uphill toward the highway. Shops, however, were flooded, leaving behind damaged wood and an inch of river silt on nearly everything.
The full extent of the damage won’t be clear until spring. The Else's primary crop, alfalfa, may have been compromised by the silt.
Andy explained the uncertainty they face: “We won’t know if it’s going to come back, or [if] the silt is too heavy on some of it, or I might have to replant some of it. And there's no way to know. I mean, you can't. Not right now, no.”
Reviewing river data from the Bureau of Reclamation with reporters, the couple saw that the river spiked to nearly 900 cubic feet per second this year. “Yeah, isn’t that amazing?” Rachel remarked.
