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Show lltmNtK UlirtSILK (Editor: In the event you need a filler somewhere in the layout of the article, perhaps you could use the following eyewitness account.) One of the first eyewitness accounts of the Heppner flood to reach print was that of J. J. Kelly and A. P. Bradley who were visiting in Heppner at the time. The following is an excerpt from their recollection of the flood reported to newsmen in Pendleton, sixty miles north of Heppner, on June 15. . . . suddenly the thunderstorm died away and left an ominous silence. The noise subsided. Then a low rumbling sound was heard, very faint at first, but growing louder. The city is situated on Willow Creek, which makes a sharp turn above the city. As this noise grew louder and louder, the people became frantic. But in a moment the van of the flood burst in view around the curve of the creek, carrying in its crest the cabins and houses which stood in its path. Then they made a rush to the hills, but were too late, the flood was upon them. The little river, which is ordinarily ten feet wide and six inches deep, in five minutes was transformed into a roaring torrent, 400 feet wide and twenty feet deep. Houses were lifted from foundations and carried on the swirling waters. Resistance was impossible. Everything was swept before the rush of the flood. People were caught in their homes and forced to crawl out on the roof. Then as the house moved down the stream they caught onto trees and hung there until morning when they were rescued. |